Summary – Sociology – Week 1 till Week 6
Week 1 – Introduction – Chapter 1 (Page 2 – 10 ) + Mills’ The Promise
What does sociology entail?
Sociology is the scientific study of human activity in society. More specifically, it is the study of the social forces that
influence or pressure people to behave, respond, or think in certain ways.
Human activities include anything people do with, for, and to others. It also includes any behaviours or thoughts
influenced by others. These include but are not limited to; people searching for work, securing food, adorning the
body, competing for some desired outcome (a scholarship, love victory), celebrating, consuming.
Social forces include anything humans create that influences or pressures people to behave, respond, or think in
certain ways. These include but are not limited to; technologies (smartphones), shared ideals such as freedom of
speech, established practices such as the eight-hour workday, a manufactured product (Oreo cookies) and processes
like globalization and glocalization.
What is Mill’s idea of the sociological imagination to cases?
The sociological imagination is a quality of mind that allows people to grasp how remote and impersonal social
forces shape their life story or biography.
From a sociological point of view, people’s biographies are shaped in large part by remote and impersonal social
forces. Social forces are considered remote and impersonal when people impacted by them had no hand in creating
them – like your smartphone because that technology is likely to matter to you most.
That technology matters because it has revolutionised on a global scale the way we communicate and share
information
It has had a dramatic impact on behaviour and relationships with others
The point is that as people respond to social forces in their lives, they become part of that force. People can embrace
social forces, challenge them or be swept along or bypassed by them.
According to Mills, people need the sociological imagination – a quality of mind that will help them to use
information – to think about what is going on in the world and what may be happening within themselves. The
payoff for those who possess a sociological imagination is that they can better understand their own experiences and
fate by locating themselves in a larger historical, cultural, and social context, that they become aware of the many
individuals who share their situations, and that they can a plan a constructive response to larger social forces
impacting their lives.
What is the difference between private troubles and public issues?
The sociological imagination cultivates the ability to distinguish between troubles and issues.
Private troubles are defined as personal needs, problems, or difficulties brought on by individual shortcomings
related to motivation, attitude, ability, character or judgement. The resolution of a trouble, if it can indeed be
resolved, lies in changing the individual in some way. To find relief for a trouble, we properly look to person’s
character, skills and immediate opportunities.
Public issues are defined as a matter that can be explained only by factors outside an individual’s control and
immediate environment.
Week 1 – Introduction – Chapter 1 (Page 2 – 10 ) + Mills’ The Promise
What does sociology entail?
Sociology is the scientific study of human activity in society. More specifically, it is the study of the social forces that
influence or pressure people to behave, respond, or think in certain ways.
Human activities include anything people do with, for, and to others. It also includes any behaviours or thoughts
influenced by others. These include but are not limited to; people searching for work, securing food, adorning the
body, competing for some desired outcome (a scholarship, love victory), celebrating, consuming.
Social forces include anything humans create that influences or pressures people to behave, respond, or think in
certain ways. These include but are not limited to; technologies (smartphones), shared ideals such as freedom of
speech, established practices such as the eight-hour workday, a manufactured product (Oreo cookies) and processes
like globalization and glocalization.
What is Mill’s idea of the sociological imagination to cases?
The sociological imagination is a quality of mind that allows people to grasp how remote and impersonal social
forces shape their life story or biography.
From a sociological point of view, people’s biographies are shaped in large part by remote and impersonal social
forces. Social forces are considered remote and impersonal when people impacted by them had no hand in creating
them – like your smartphone because that technology is likely to matter to you most.
That technology matters because it has revolutionised on a global scale the way we communicate and share
information
It has had a dramatic impact on behaviour and relationships with others
The point is that as people respond to social forces in their lives, they become part of that force. People can embrace
social forces, challenge them or be swept along or bypassed by them.
According to Mills, people need the sociological imagination – a quality of mind that will help them to use
information – to think about what is going on in the world and what may be happening within themselves. The
payoff for those who possess a sociological imagination is that they can better understand their own experiences and
fate by locating themselves in a larger historical, cultural, and social context, that they become aware of the many
individuals who share their situations, and that they can a plan a constructive response to larger social forces
impacting their lives.
What is the difference between private troubles and public issues?
The sociological imagination cultivates the ability to distinguish between troubles and issues.
Private troubles are defined as personal needs, problems, or difficulties brought on by individual shortcomings
related to motivation, attitude, ability, character or judgement. The resolution of a trouble, if it can indeed be
resolved, lies in changing the individual in some way. To find relief for a trouble, we properly look to person’s
character, skills and immediate opportunities.
Public issues are defined as a matter that can be explained only by factors outside an individual’s control and
immediate environment.
