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Sociological imagination and Personal Experiences PDF

   

Added on  2021-04-21

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Running head: SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION AND PERSONAL EXPERIENCESSOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION AND PERSONAL EXPERIENCESName of the student:Name of university:Class time and days of the week:Author note:

1SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION AND PERSONAL EXPERIENCESAccording to C W Mills1, sociological imagination is the ability of a sociologist tolink personal troubles with the public issues. These troubles are said to occur within the lifeof an individual or it may be related to someone known by the person. Trouble is understoodto be a private matter of the individual. The concept of issues is that it transcends the localenvironments pertaining to the individual. Issue is of public concern as their collective valuesare threatened. Keeping the notion of sociological imagination at the backdrop, this essay is areflection about my social location a millennial, ideologies, upbringing and diverse facets ofmy life.C W Mills states that the personal problems of an individual should not be understoodas isolated events as it is located in the broader social context and issues in the society. Thisperspective of sociology enables the individual to view their everyday routines in life fromdifferent perspective. I understood the significance of sociological imagination whilstintrospection about my own life journey as a white, privileged, middle-class, millennial borninto a family that believes in Republican ideology. I was born in the year 1993 in a middle-class family in Chicago and our family has been strong advocates of the Republican Party.Therefore, the exhortation by President Trump to make America great again appealed to meand the rest of my family. However, my half-sister Sarah whose mother belonged to theBlack community differed with us. She felt alienated and disconcerted whenever I wouldsupport the Republican Party. It was only after my tryst with Mill’s Sociological Imaginationthat I could situate my ideologies and Sarah’s resentment in the broader spectrum. I have often felt that as millennials we are as racist as our earlier generation.However, we refuse to accept our deep-rooted racist attitude and instead blame the critics.This was all the more evident when I went for the Trump rally organized in 2017 with thebelief that America will witness growth under the new regime. The media coverage of the1 C. Wright Mills, "The Sociological Imagination" (1959) 46(2)The Mississippi Valley Historical Review.

2SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION AND PERSONAL EXPERIENCESwhite millennials in the rally motivated me to understand my social location. Millennials aredefined as individuals in the age group of 18 to 35 years old. It has been found that in thecontext of Chicago 41 per cent of the millennials are vacation movers who have moved aheadto another city. Our generation emphasizes and encourages individual freedom and themobility of individuals once they reach their 20s. Chicago has been counted as one of theimportant cities that is favorite with the millennials. An estimate of 74 per cent millennialswho have shifted to a new city have done so with the aim of relocation2. 40 per cent amongthese millennials move to a new place because of work or a new job and 30 per cent prefer toshift their base for experiences3. Millennials have shown preference for settling down in newareas with 69 per cent who prefers to live in the city or in the inner areas of the suburbs. Ihave come across literature that identified the characteristics of the Trump supporters amongthe millennials. In the light of the conflict between the Democrats and the Republicans mostmillennials have voted for Trump. This behavior may be attributed to the rising economicanxiety among the millennials and the issue of racial resentment that have resurfaced on theAmerican soil. The anxiety of the whites may be rooted in their fear of white vulnerability.The whites in America have developed the fear of losing their control and therefore there isan aggression needs to their territories. The whites in America found in Trump a messiah whowould save them from the challenges posed by a heterogeneous America where theminorities are encroaching the territories of the whites. This white vulnerability is related to2 Florian Justwan et al, "Social Media Echo Chambers And Satisfaction With Democracy Among DemocratsAnd Republicans In The Aftermath Of The 2016 US Elections" [2018]Journal of Elections, Public Opinion andParties.3Checking Millennial Privilege: Remembering The ...<https://bowdoinorient.com/2017/05/05/checking-millennial-privilege-remembering-the-contributions-of-our-ancestors/>.

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