Sociological Imagination: Personal Trouble Vs. Public Issue

C. Wright Mills’s idea of “sociological imagination” challenges us to look at different relationships and try to understand them more thoroughly. The materials covered in this course have helped me understand how this relationship between society and self and between history and biography are related to technology and online life. Technology has made it easier for us to connect instantly with each other and has made it easier for us to find and use information. In this course, technology has helped me understand the materials for research and has made it easier for me to find sources for my papers. In our country, technology has helped make history. We now have cars that drive themselves and phones that have the ability to be online and connected 24 hours a day.

Throughout our lives we encounter numerous personal troubles, no matter big ones or trivial ones. However, one may seldom relate their problems in a sociological level rather often try to ascribe the blame to their personal wrongs. In this essay I would introduce the topic of sociological imagination coined by sociologist C. Wright Mills, describing how personal matters have all sorts of interwoven relationships with social issues. It is also important to realize that there are distinctions between “personal troubles” and “public issues” despite their relationship. To be successful survivors in our society, one must have the insight and sensibility to analyze how their personal troubles can be viewed to a broader extent. Because it is believed that the individuals’ life and the history of society cannot be understood by not understanding the relation between the two (Mills 1959).

As conceived by C. Wright Mills, sociological imagination is the mental ability to establish intelligible relations among social structure and personal biography that is observing and seeing the impact of society over our private lives. Sociological imagination helps an individual to understand on a much larger scale the meaning and effect of society on of one’s daily life experience. People blame themselves for their own personal problems and they themselves are responsible for their personal issues. Whether they fail or succeed, rich or poor, whatever the outcome, they find themselves responsible. C, Wright Mills allows us to see that sometimes that the problems we have are structural and that we are not the sole contributors to some problems we face. The structure and society at large play a very important role also in contributing to some of the issues we deem personal and private.

Think about a problem or challenge you are facing or have faced. Using the sociological imagination, describe that problem or challenge: (1) as if it were a trouble and (2) as if it were an issue. How might globalization impact this issue?

When using a sociological imagination, a community development worker must understand the different types of society’s and cultures in which they will be subject to work. Using their sociological imagination, they must be able to understand a society’s issues from a different perspective and also able to identify historical meanings with those on the individual

Mills describes how a personal trouble arises because “the character of the individual and within the range of his immediate relationships with others” (Mills, 1959/2000). Achieving a solution can be resolved by the individual and those who are in communication with another. Developing a sociological imagination can allow individuals to understand social structures and the world better. By increasing knowledge of a sociological imagination, four key points come into consideration, historical influence, cultural influence, structural influence and critical influence. Mills states that studying the correlation between the individual and society will allow us to see how our personal world and public issues

“Amenities that student parents need such as affordable child care facilities, flexible scheduling options and parent support groups, aren’t available at every institution(Couch, 2013, p. 1). Many of the non-residential single parent students felt that their families came first. The participants voiced their own opinions about the need for childcare and family support that was not available to them. Having to keep up with their jobs which were demanding at times and not having the family support that they often needed. “ As noted by the National Student Speech Language and Hearing Association (2010) finding a balance between maintaining your own academic career and the well being of your family can be tricky (p.118).

When people first hear of children living in a single parent household, they automatically think of divorce, a widow, or an unmarried parent with children. Taking into account all the different factors resulting in a single parent household, divorce is the most common. Sadly, about 30 to 40 percent of marriages in the United States end in divorce. Although many people come to the conclusion that living in a single parent household creates negative effects for the children, I believe from personal experience that there are perhaps many beneficial factors for the children. Of course, divorce isn't easy for any of the parties involved. It creates conflict but in the full picture, it happens to create a healthier life for the children and parents. Every situation and story is different. Some single parenting circumstances aren't the best and never seem to get better. Then, there are other instances that turn out to eventually work well for the family.

At first glance, the legislation in offshore jurisdictions makes the repatriation of assets seemingly impossible, providing the impossibility defence for debtors unwilling to relinquish assets owed to creditors. Offshore jurisdictions may use clever tactics such as duress and flight clauses to make repatriation of the assets in protection trusts difficult, but onshore jurisdictions are not to be fooled; the court will either declare the trust a sham, void the transaction, threaten professional negligence against the attorney or hold the settlor in contempt until compliance. As long as the debtor is physically residing in the onshore jurisdiction and subject to the laws of that nation, the court can effectively through coercive means attempt to repatriate the assets from the trust.

The Sociological Imagination by C. Wright Mills is a way of examining human behavior in terms of the attributes of society that define them. It also identifies the mechanism of how people gain awareness of their social location. (Mills) The Sociological Imagination provides a framework for thinking about human behavior and troubles and how they are impacted by the issuesof a society as a whole. (Mills) Under this theory, “Neither the life of the individual nor the history of society can be understood without understanding both.” (Millls). This way of examining individual issues inside of the context of the greater sociological history allows one to examine how her personal issues fit into what is happening in society. (Lecture 2016) By taking

Introduction A vast majority of the students who attend college today are single mothers, however the literature fails to capture this unique population (Beeler, 2016). College students who are single mothers “face unique challenges, such as juggling childcare, finances, and household duties, that make enrollment in traditional 4-year college difficult” (Dugan & Graham, 2011, p.152). College students who are single mothers face these challenges because they do not have the support from a spouse and have to deal with the ins and outs of being a parent. The majority of single mothers have a need to be financially independent which is a contributor to stress as they often have to deal with being the sole provider. However, it should be noted

the Sociological Imagination (1959) by C. Wright Mills focuses on what social science should be concerned with and the good that it can produce. It presents a vision of sociology and rejects views that are critical towards it. Society, Mills believes, represents institutional crisis and the confinement of men. He contends that a sociological imagination is a way to relieve these conditions. In Mills’ time, the field and study of sociology were relatively new in the United States.

Over the course of time, the number of single parents has increased, and it has been a stereotype that children growing under a single parent family are presumed to be poor. Therefore, society lacks the ability to financially support struggling single parents. As this subject continues to be speculated, people must recognize that single parents are becoming more common in today’s world. According to the 2005 U.S. Bureau of the Census

Over the last twenty years, one of the most remarkable changes in family structure has been the increase in the number of single-parent families. In this type of family, one parent in the household is raising the children due to the high divorce rates and adults choosing not to marry. This is “currently the fastest growing family type in North America”. According to a research, “88 percent of these families are headed by women currently.”9

In the trajectory of humanity, single parenting has become a concept internationally accepted by most modern cultures. What exactly causes single parenthood? Well there are many factors in which could result in a single parent household. Death of a partner, divorce, and unintended pregnancy are just some of the causes of single parenthood. Based on this worldwide acknowledgement and understanding, single parenthood is usually aided by monetary help from the government or unions. Although financial help is available, the psychological effects a child goes through could never be fixed by any type of cash value. These psychological traumas and mental changes could affect the parent raising the child as well. Even with some financial help,