Question

The sociological imagination encourages the idea to look at the world and its situations through a wider lens. Consider a social problem that you, your family, or maybe your close friends have experienced. To look at the problem through a wider lens than your own perspective, apply the sociological imagination to the problem:

In order to do this, look past your previously constructed rationale, explore other possible reasons, on the micro (individual) and macro (political/systems/global) levels that may have impacted or perpetuated this social problem. Describe how using your sociological imagination helps you see the social problem. Does it widen your view?

Answer 1

As we know sociological imagination can defined as looking at the problems from different perspective or i can say changing your perspective . We see many social problems in society and tend to analyze them through our own perspective which sometimes is full of biases . Sociological imagination provides us with a wide view of such kinds of problems and helps us analyze them from a multidimensional perspective . Let us take an example of the social problem such as economic poverty . So when we see it through a normal perspective we see that poverty is related only to financial terms . But a sociological perspective helps us to understand it from micro and macro levels . Poverty at the micro level is result of multidimensional things . Such as lack of education , lack of proper health infrastructure and lack of employment and lack of financial resources . These things together contribute to poverty . At the macro level political policies and intervention , inequality , social stratification on the basis of caste and class can lead to marginalization of a one particular group and lead them to poverty . For example a family is below the poverty line not because they don't have financial resources but also because they lack education , health and are suppressed by class inequalities . For example if they don't have access to education then they will not develop necessary skills for employment . Similarly their restricted access to affordable health services can result in poor health and again they miss our employment opportunities. Similarly expensive health services drain their expenses so the subsidies they are provided by the macro level government are being used in this only and they are not able to use it for other productive purposes. Similarly a larger govt policy which is only providing financial support and lacks proper education and health infrastructure is inefficient because it does not target the basic needs required . The individual then suffers from multidimensional poverty both at micro and macro levels . Similarly individuals the social structure of the society pushes individuals more deeply into poverty as we know individuals who are discriminated often face social exclusion. This is the way social imagination helps us to understand a social problem; it helps us to look at all other aspects leading to that problem .