The Sociological Imagination

C. Wright Mills wrote that the sociological imagination promises an understanding of “the interplay of [the individual] and society, of biography and history, of self and world.” It is a way of thinking that enables us to make connections between our individual experiences and larger social realities located within particular periods in history. In this class, you will learn to develop your sociological imagination through an exploration of how society works, paying particular attention to the social, economic, and political forces that shape who we are and how we think. We will look closely at social, political, cultural, and economic transformations in contemporary US society from the postwar era to the present. Beginning with the 1950s, what were the major social forces operating within each decade? What was it like for women, workers, immigrants—in other words, ordinary people—living in their historical period? How did sociologists interpret such realities? How was their thinking influenced by the period and the society in which they lived? We will journey through the decades, covering major social issues for each period ranging from gender and family, race and social movements, labor and work to globalization and migration. To this end, students will read texts in sociology, anthropology, and history. By the end of the course, students should be able to identify how external social forces impact individual life chances, to question things regarded as natural or commonsense, and to draw connections between intimate experiences and larger social realities.