Women and Sociology the Sociological

Women and Sociology

The Sociological Imagination

In the year 1959, the American sociologist C. Wright Mills created the term "sociological imagination" as a means of describing a person's ability to connect personal aspects of one's individual life to larger historical forces. The implication of the sociological imagination is that people should strive to recognize that their personal problems are oftentimes a part of a larger social issue. By connecting one's personal life with the larger workings of society, you can often see how and why certain things in the society need to be changed. What is more, the sociological imagination helps individuals determine whether they are having a personal problem, or whether their problems are part of larger public issues. Those individuals struggling with poverty, for instance, who become imbued with a sociological imagination will consider that they are not wholly responsible for their situation - that there are social forces that have been complacent in placing them and making sure they remain in a state of poverty. Once this sociological imagination is reached, a person might then begin to take the correct steps to lift themselves out of poverty.

According to Mills, "nowadays men often feel that their private lives are a series of traps" owing to the fact that "their visions and their powers are limited to the close-up scenes of job, family, and neighborhood" (3). Owing to such trappings, individuals are thus prevented from coming to a fuller understanding of the sociological implications of their problems. What complicates this matter further is the fact that society is continually undergoing changes, and it is oftentimes difficult for individuals to keep track of all these changes when they are caught up in their own day-to-day struggles.

In a recent issue of the New York Times Magazine, reporter Roger Cohen traveled to Israel in order to write a profile on Tzipi Levni, who is described as the "daughter of Zionist militants, ex-spy, foreign minister and rising political star" (34). The article begins shortly after Cohen has conducted his first interview with Levni, when he receives a phone call from the politician in which she concernedly wishes to correct some things she said about her personal life: "I was thinking about this idea of me as a disciplined person," she begins, in response to an earlier question the reporter had asked her.

There are parts of me that are different. I prefer jeans to a suit, sneakers to high heels, markets to malls. You've just returned from Paris: I prefer the Quartier Latin to the Champs Elysees. In general, I don't like formality at all. It is just part of what I do. You know, when I was young, I went to the Sinai and worked as a waitress" (36).

This startling pronouncement by one of Israel's leading political figures infers that Levni herself has a keen understanding of the sociological imagination and all its implications. Speaking to a journalist, she is aware of the media's capability of manipulating things that are said in order to serve dubious purposes. Rather than allow herself to be portrayed as a stiff, formal, bureaucrat, she wishes to assert those human sides of herself that show how she relates to the world at large. Such assertions will undoubtedly make her appeal to women from a particular social class - namely, those who have the privilege of going to Paris in the first place - yet also those who may have worked in lower-paying service industry jobs (i.e. As waitresses.)

II. Social Action

Max Weber developed the concept of social action as a means of describing those actions that take into account actions and reactions of other people, then modifying that action based on those occurrences. Sociologists employ social action as a conceptual model as a means of determining how certain behaviors are modified in specific environments. When we evaluate the norms of social discourse and the customs that prevail in any given society, we see how social action works.

Importantly, social action takes into consideration reactions of others. When the reaction of an individual or group is not wanted, then the action will be modified accordingly. Sociology is essentially the study of social action, as it takes into account the way society functions and the way human behavior is established in societal structures. According to social action theory, people change their actions according to what social context they find themselves in, based on how their actions will have an affect on others. Such alterations are the object of sociological inquiry.

Social action plays a dominant role in the leadership and organization of social movements. Ella Baker, one of leading African-American and civil rights activists of the 20th century, worked primarily as a behind-the-scenes organizer for such leaders as Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, and W.E.B. DuBois. When she became field secretary for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1941, she was one of the central figures who pushed for the committee to decentralize itself and be more inclusive, during which time she traveled all over the country recruiting new members. Indeed, field action played a prominent role in the social activism of Ella Baker.

Regina Curry of Chicago began her career as a social organizer by working in community-based programs. Her work has focused on improving the quality of life for individuals who are disadvantaged on a socio-economic level. She has taken the initiative to launch several homeless shelters in the course of her career, while also doing work in cooperative organizations.