Readings in Context: Module 1 - Essay Example

The Promise Social imagination is a part of Sociology that was innovated by C. Wright Mill. According to Mill, society is a combination of different relationships that subsist in it. We as the part of a society take part in interrelating to the features that are connected to our living in this world and are chronologically and socially connected with our lives. We act as individuals in a society. We are able to understand our lives because of social imagination as the aspects that influence our living styles whether they are external or internal are easily described under the heading of social imagination.

Our cultural principles and chronological actions are regarded as external factors. The characteristics that are part of our persona are considered internal factors. Social imagination as a whole helps us to understand our society and our existence in terms of past and present. Our past and present is related because of social imagination that accommodates us to understand our lives and improve them. Our societal development depends on our understanding of social imagination that enables us to see social life on a wide-ranging scale.

We can connect our personal issues to the wider social issues and find suitable solutions.How History and Sociology Can Help Today’s FamiliesOur personal problems can be solved considering them on a broader perspective by connecting them to the social problems as described by social imagination. The continuous transformations that occur within a society can be related to transformations happening in families and chronological data can be used for problem solving. Social imagination just shows us a way to solve our personal issues with the help of its tools but is unable to warrant a necessary way-out.

Stefanie Coontz provides views on social imagination to understand the relationship existing within families of today as she relates today with past experiences. She connects the problem of insurgence of teenagers towards their parents with historical accounts. The disagreement between teenagers and their parents is a personal issue but can be connected on a wider scale by analyzing history. Social imagination allows one to connect personal problems with social problems due to which, solutions can be acquired.

Hernando WashingtonWith the help of social imagination, we are able to understand the reasons for crime happening at a place. According to McIntyre (2008), crimes can be restricted by the use of social imagination and its tools. Hernando is a criminal who formed a criminal’s personality by connecting his personal problems with social issues. He has his own justification of his committing crime. According to his narration, his family including his brother and sister were wronged by the society and no lawful action was taken for their assistance.

His sister was raped and his brother was shot dead and police was unable to do any kind of justice due to which, for Hernando, raping, doing robberies, murdering people and kidnapping were not something that were against social values. He had lost the moral values and was unable to distinguish them right and wrong because of his social knowledge. His society taught him to commit crimes due to which, he put his wife to death and raped three women. He had no values related to social imagination.

ReferencesMcIntyre, L. J. (2008). The Practical Skeptic. Responding to Chaos. New York: The McGraw-Hill companies.