Sociology 2140 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Structural Functionalism, Social Forces, The Sociological Imagination
16 Dec 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Why study social problems: (1) to understand social forces that shape our lives. Personal & societal levels: (2) to gain new insights into ourselves & connections. Global society: (3) to make more effective decisions. Not all social conditions become elevated to the status of social problems: certain criteria that a condition has to meet to be elevated, associated with well-being. When studying social problems : common sense doesn"t work. Cohabiting prior to marriage increases divorce rates: sociological imagination" is needed. Combining the personal with the public: private troubles ~ public issues i. e. unemployment. Comparing how it affects a family against the economy, government, etc. C. wright mills: the sociological imagination (1959: sociological imagination: ability to see relationship between individual"s experiences & larger society. Private troubles and broader social trends: a quality of mind that allows one to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society, individuals circumstances are linked to the structure of society**
