SOCS 185N Week 1 Assignment: Sociological Imagination Essay

Examining and understanding social issues is vital to our society both so that at a micro level, individuals can avoid the causes of social ills, and at a macro level, communities and their leaders can work together to shape policy that addresses these issues. One of the leading issues this country continues to experience is homelessness. Even in 2020, with one of the most powerful economies in the world, the US finds itself unable to have a proper roof over every American’s head. This paper will explore the social forces involved in homelessness, utilize the concept of sociological imagination to understand the problem, and how sociologists apply it. To understand the issue of homelessness, it is important to apply sociological imagination. Inherently, individuals will have their own ideas and opinions about how someone may end up homeless. It will be influenced by their experiences and point of view. However, to examine this social issue, it is not enough to draw a conclusion from that one limited point of view. It needs to be thought about in the larger context of how the world works. According to the textbook by Dr. Kendall (2018), this is what sociological imagination is - “the ability to see the relationship between individual experiences and the larger society” (p. 6). Doing so ensures that people are thinking critically about problems, which is important in order to avoid providing ineffective solutions to those problems. So how does sociological imagination get applied to the issue of homelessness? Ashley Crossman does a great job of applying this concept to coffee in her article, citing the social interaction around “getting a cup of coffee” and the economics of coffee which include the cultivation and sourcing of beans all the way through the packaging and distribution to the consumer. To examine homelessness, someone’s first question may be, “how did this person end up homeless”? It’s natural to think about the economics of this and how an individual could lose everything to a point where they don’t have a home or enough to sustain their daily necessities. However, when researching homelessness as a phenomenon, it becomes clear that there is much more to it than just money. For example, viewing homelessness as a personal problem could be tied to unemployment. However, something that contributes to not being able to secure employment among homeless individuals in the first place is mental illness. “Studies suggest that individuals with more severe symptoms may have the greatest difficulty finding work, learning job skills, getting along with employers and co-workers, and keeping their jobs” ridgway & rapp, 1998, Rutman, 1994). So while the issue of mental illness may be personal in nature, it can be viewed as a structural issue if there is a lack of mental health resources in a community. https://search-proquest- Exploring homelessness at an even more granular level has to do with affiliations or associations. For example, other research points to disaffiliation as a cause of homelessness. According to Joan Morris’ piece in the Journal of Social Psychology, disaffiliation is defined as an increasing detachment from roles that make up traditional social institutions. Getting fired from a job or being evicted for example, removes an individual from their social networks as it can be isolating. It can also reduce the incentive to behave a way that is socially acceptable. Morris’ piece cites these actions having the potential to spiral downward quickly, further isolating the individual. This is critical to acknowledge, because as individuals, perhaps we can be more cautious or proactive around disruptions in social ties if we know they can lead to something as devastating as homelessness. https://search-proquest- The explanations for homelessness above viewed things from a personal problem perspective. In applying sociological imagination, one would have to examine the structural issues that lead to homelessness as well. For example, economic conditions like high unemployment can create a ripe situation where multiple individuals in the community face homelessness. Another structural issue could simply be the shortage of housing. While we often think about housing as renting or buying, the government plays a significant role in examining areas and providing public and/or affordable housing where necessary. As sociology is the discipline to study complex phenomena in our world, it’s important to understand the varying perspectives that shape the field. The textbook for this class explores three shaping perspectives advanced by various authors over the last couple of centuries. When thinking about homelessness, the functionalist perspective puts the issue into context. It posits that society should be a stable, orderly system driven by a common set of values and behavioral expectations. However, Merton notes “that all features of a social system may not be functional at all times; dysfunctions are the undesirable consequences of any element of a society? (page 16. In reviewing the application of sociological imagination and the various causes of homelessness, mental illness stands out as a dysfunction. While not desirable, it is unavoidable and therefore to restore order, society must acknowledge it and implement the appropriate resources. In order to understand the causes and effects of homelessness, it’s not enough to chalk it up to a person’s unfortunate economic situation. Rather, there are a myriad of structural issues in a community (lack of employment, discrimination, lack of mental illness resources, etc), that contribute to high rates of individuals that face homelessness. It is also important to acknowledge the individual’s personal issues that can contribute to this, like disaffiliation, mental illness, addiction, or the inability to navigate the financial stressors. There is a real play between macro social processes and micro so