The quality of mind that enables one to see the connection between personal troubles and social structures and forces" (C. Wright Mills, 1959). Social imagination is all about determining the relationship between the ordinary lives of people and the wider social forces. For this final essay, you will apply your sociological imagination to a phenomenon that you've observed or experienced in your daily life.
a. Introduction: briefly introduce a "personal trouble." Look within your own microstructures, though keep in mind that it doesn't have to be something that you've personally experienced (you can divulge as much or as little of your personal life as you wish). It could be something you have observed on television, watching peers or strangers in public, previously unquestioned or unchallenged assumptions about something.
b. From Personal issue to Public Issue: Now that you've identified a personal issue, how might others experience the same issue? Identify at least 3 of the 5 external social structures (these could be microstructures, mesostructures, mascrostructures, and/or global structures) that influence this personal trouble? Identify each one--define each of these structures and explain why it's important to discuss as part of your personal trouble. Reference the lecture notes here.
c. Theoretical framework: Now that you've identified a public issue, we need to explain why, choose one of the foundational theoretical frameworks we covered in class (functionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interactionism, feminist theory, critical race theory). Explain what the theory is. In this section, you must reference the textbook.
d. Theoretical Evaluation: How might the theoretical framework you've chosen explain this public issue? What are some of the limitations of using this theoretical evaluation on your public issue?
e. Conclusion: a brief concluding paragraph that summarizes your entire essay.