Republic of the Philippines

UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN PHILIPPINES

University Town, Northern Samar
Website: uep.educ.ph; Email: [email protected]

College of Arts and Communication

Department of Social Sciences
Sociology Program

Unit 1
Basic Concepts in Sociology

MODULE 2: SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION

UNIT 1. : Sociological Perspective
Prepared by: Liana Melissa E. de la Rosa, CAC, Social Sciences Department
 2 Sociological
Imagination
Problem-Solving Skills (Activity #2)
Choose a classmate in your section and work this with him/her. Discuss this with your
partner. What they would do and how this relates to the dilemma faced by students of
sociology.
A group of people is walking down a trail, looking for a town where people always
tell the truth. They come to a fork in the road and one sign says “Town of Truth” the other
sign says “Town of Lies.” It’s hard to tell if the signs are pointing in the right direction. The
group meets two men walking down the Road, having come from one of the towns. People in
the group want to ask them for directions, but it occurs to them that they might be from
different towns. They aren’t sure that one of them won’t lie about which town is which.
What should you do? Use sociological perspective in answering the question. (An
activity without a partner will not be checked) (20 pts)

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CRITERIA 4 3 2 1
Information is very Information is slightly Information is The information appears
organized in a well- organized in a well- organized but to be disorganized.
Organization
constructed paragraph or constructed paragraph or paragraph(s) are not
paragraphs. paragraphs. well-constructed.
Content Information relates to the Information relates to the Information partially Information has little or
topic. It provides a lot of topic. It provides few relates to the topic. No nothing to do with the
supporting details and/or supporting details and/or details and/or topic.

MODULE 2: SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION

UNIT 1. : Sociological Perspective
Prepared by: Liana Melissa E. de la Rosa, CAC, Social Sciences Department
 examples. examples. examples are given.
Main points well developed Main points well developed Main points are present Main points lack detailed
with high quality and with quality supporting with limited detail and development. Ideas are
Development quantity support. Reveals details and quantity. Critical development. Some vague with little
high degree of critical thinking is weaved into critical thinking is evidence of critical
thinking. points. present. thinking.
Essay is free of distracting Essay has few punctuation Most spelling, Spelling, punctuation,
spelling, punctuation, and and grammatical errors punctuation, and and grammatical errors
grammatical errors; absent allowing reader to follow grammar correct create distraction,
Grammar
of fragments, comma ideas clearly. Very few allowing reader to making reading difficult;
& Mechanics
splices, and run-ons. fragments or run-ons. progress through essay. fragments, comma
Some errors remain. splices, run-ons evident.
Errors are frequent.
Meets all formal and Meets format and Meets format and Fails to follow format
assignment requirements assignment requirements; assignment and assignment
and evidences attention to margins, spacing, and requirements; generally requirement; cover
detail; all margins, spacing indentations are correct; correct margins, format, incorrect
Format
and indentations are essay is neat and correctly spacing, and indentations; neatness
correct; essay is neat and assembled. indentations; essay is of essay needs attention.
correctly assembled with neat but may have
professional look. some assembly errors.

The sociological perspectives allows us to Learning Objectives:

develop sociological imagination. Once you learn After reading this module,
students will be able to
to apply it in your life, it will be easy for you to
comprehend why the different social forces affects 1. Define sociological
imagination.
your life, and how to avoid being captives of these
2. Know C. Wright Mills
forces. 3. Apply the sociological
When we talk about social forces it is an imagination in their life.

element in the society which has the capability of

causing change or influences people (businessdictionary.com). The society has five 5 major
institutions –
a. family – the base unit of the society.
b. school – educating individuals
c. economics – the resources of each country or place
d. religion – system of faith or worship
e. government – system of faith or worship

these mentioned institutions above (and

C. Wright Mills is also known as the father
of the student movement of the 1960s. He is others) have different influences in a
known for several classic works in sociology social actors’ life. Sociological
beside the Sociological Imagination.
perspective enables us to develop a

MODULE 2: SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION

UNIT 1. : Sociological Perspective
Prepared by: Liana Melissa E. de la Rosa, CAC, Social Sciences Department
sociological imagination. That is knowing how social forces affect our lives can prevent us
from being prisoners of those forces. C Wright Mills, an American sociologist, coined
sociological imagination. According to Mills, it is the ability of individuals to see the
relationship between events in their personal lives and events in their society (Sociology and
You). It is the interconnectedness between individual problems and public issues.
The sociological imagination makes us understand the effects of event, on our daily
lives. It has the capacity to understand the interaction of the individual and the society, or the
self and the world. For instance, look at the connection between your personal experiences
and the social forces in a bigger perspective, and the influences it made to our life.

We, social actors see our world in a very personal level, it is limited only to our
individual experiences. The Sociological imagination is teaching us to look beyond the
facade, to dig deeper, and analyze deeper. We need to broaden our perspectives in viewing
our life and the things that is happening around us.

What is gained by using our sociological imagination?

People do not make decisions, big or small, in isolation. Historically, for example,
American society has shown a strong bias against childless and one-child marriages. Couples
without children have been considered selfish, and an only child has often been labeled
“spoiled”. These values date back to a time when large families were needed for survival.
Most people lived on family farms, where children were needed to help with the work.
Furthermore, many children died at birth or infancy. People responded to society’s needs by
having large families. Now, as the need for large families is disappearing, we are beginning
to read about benefits of one-child-families – to the child, to the family, and to society. This
change in attitude is reflected in the decrease in family size.
The sociological imagination helps us understand the effects of events, such as the
social pressures just discussed, on our daily lives. With this understanding, we are in a better
position to make our own decisions rather than merely conform.
This social awareness permits us to read the newspaper with a fuller understanding of
the everts. Instead of interpreting a letter opposing welfare as an expression of someone with
no compassion, we might instead see the writer as a person who places great importance on
independence and self-help. The sociological imagination questions common interpretations

MODULE 2: SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION

UNIT 1. : Sociological Perspective
Prepared by: Liana Melissa E. de la Rosa, CAC, Social Sciences Department
of human social behavior. It challenges conventional social wisdom – ideas people assume
are true.

REFERENCES

Balisacan, Arsenio M. Poverty, Urbanization and Development Policy: A

Philippine Perspective. University of the Philippines Press, Quezon City
1995

Croteau, David, Hoynes William. Experience Sociology. 3rd ed. 2018. McGraw Hill,
New York.

Ferguson, Susan J. Mapping the Social Landscape. Readings in Sociology. 4th

ed. 2005. McGraw Hill, New York.

Galeski, Boguslaw. Basic Concepts of Rural Sociology.

Giddens, Anthony, Sutton Philip. Essential Concepts in Sociology. 2nd Ed. 2017.
Polity Press, Cambridge, UK

Gist P. N, Halbert, L.A. Urban Society. Thomas Y. Crowell Company, New York, 4th
Edition

Lynch, Kenneth, Rural-Urban Interaction in the Developing World. Routledge

Perspectives on Development. New York, USA: 2005

Rogers, Everett M. Social Change in Rural Society: A text book in Rural

Sociology.

MODULE 2: SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION

UNIT 1. : Sociological Perspective
Prepared by: Liana Melissa E. de la Rosa, CAC, Social Sciences Department