Reference no: EM133714434

Assignment:

Read C. Wright Mills, The Sociological Imagination, The Promise, 1959, before answering the following questions.

1. At the beginning of the chapter, Mills writes, "people often feel that their private lives are a series of traps. They sense that within their everyday worlds, they cannot overcome their troubles..." Do you identify with this statement? To what extent? Provide examples from your own life.

2. Look at the examples that you gave in your answer to the question above. What are some of the social and/or historical circumstances that cause (or contribute to) the traps and troubles that you experience?

3. After having read the chapter, imagine that a friend asked you, "What is the sociological imagination?" Without looking back at the reading too much and without paraphrasing too strongly, use your own words to explain what Mills means by "the sociological imagination." Don't worry about getting every bit of detail in your answer, just practice explaining it to a peer. Write down what you would say.

4. On the 3rd page of the reading, Mills lists three series of questions that could be applied to any society ((1) What is the structure...; (2) Where does this society...; (3) What varieties...). Choose any society, however you want to define it (you could choose New York City or the United States or another region. Write down all of the questions Mills asks and answer as many as you can with regard to the society you have chosen (it should be whatever society you feel you are most familiar with).

5. According to the reading (especially the 4th page), what are "troubles" and "issues" and how are they different? Give definitions and examples of each.

6. Think back to the traps and troubles you wrote about for the first question, and the sociological/historical factors you described in your response to the 2nd question. What types of social changes would have to occur in order for your experience of your traps and troubles to change?