Monday, January 26, 2009
Sociological Imagination
In Sociology, you talked about the idea of the Sociological Imagination, connecting the personal to the political. Let's expand that discussion to include the connecting of the personal to the cultural or the societal. How do you see the sociological imagination at work in the stories we read this week?
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From the stories we read this week, I am able to see the sociological imagination at work through the characters and the fact that they were all dealing with personal issues such as: aging, identity issues, social inequality, or other problems which can be traced back to what the society perhaps faces as a whole. Throughout each of the stories, the main characters go on journeys-both literal and symbolic-that teach them something important regarding their present situations, allowing them to see the bigger picture.
ReplyDeleteA majority of the stories we've read this week all deal with personal issues, but relate back to the whole of society. Every character we've read about goes on a literal journey, as well as symbolic, shows us, the readers the depth of the author's writing. The sociological imagination I see in these stories is in the depth of the writing, the twist the author gives us to make us think about the symbolic journey the characters go on, as well as the literal journey.
ReplyDeleteIn all the stories that we have read, all of the characters can relate to each other in some way or form. Like grace said, the characters go on their journeys and there is always a literal journey and a symbolic journey that teaches them something about themselves or society as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI think that in all the stories we have read thier journies, both literal and symbolic are all connected to sociological imagination. For example, in the short story "The Lesson", Sylvia does not have a lot of money and feels shame because she cannot purchase the expensive toys...connecting personal and political. In all the stories they are taught a lesson about the society or themselves.
ReplyDeleteSociological imagination is a journey, which is personal. Yet at the end of it all it is not that personal after all. Think about the works you have read in class and how it weaves into something you have experienced and come across.
ReplyDeleteRemeber sociological imagination is not meant to subtract from your individual experience. However it broadens your horizon to analyze social reality beyond what is apparent.
In all the stories we've read they all go through personal journies at first but at the end becomes public or some sort of lesson is taught in each short story.
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