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A person who is able to pull themselves
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away from a situation mentally and think
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about different points of view and how
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items interact is using their
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sociological imagination.
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American sociologist, C.
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Wright Mills created the concept in 1959
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and defined it as the vivid awareness
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of the relationship between
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experience and wider society.
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It is the ability to look
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at something with fresh yet critical eyes.
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Mills created this theory during a time
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where he felt that sociologists were too
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concerned with social structures and not
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looking at the concerns
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of people in their everyday life.
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To Mills, his concept of the sociological
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imagination could bring people together so
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they could change the concept
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of a personal challenge like
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homelessness and make it a public issue.
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Mills wanted to combine our biographies,
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our life, with the greater picture of
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history and see how it is interconnected.
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When we see the two come together
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and interact, then we can
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understand both better.
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For example, through the concept,
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one can see how personal barriers or
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challenges may be connected
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to larger social issues.
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A person may be homeless due to bad
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choices or through a series of events
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that led them to homelessness.
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The person may not have been able to stop
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the train of events that led
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to the loss of their house or apartment.
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It was simply unavoidable.
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For Mills, the personal challenges are
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the troubles or the biography
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that an individual faces,
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while the issue placed before them are
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the social challenges or the history.
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Another example is a college student
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who spends the majority of their time
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gaming instead of going to class
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and doing their homework.
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They are experiencing a personal trouble,
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especially when they
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don't pass their classes.
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However, if we look at statistics,
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we may find a different picture.
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After six years at a four-year college,
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less than 60% of students earn a degree.
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UCLA noted that 45% of their students
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earn a bachelor's within four years.
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So, what are the larger social
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issues at play with this situation?
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Has society done all it can to prepare college
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freshmen for the rigors of college,
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while also possibly holding
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down a part-time job?
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Did the student have
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money to buy a textbook?
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Were they experiencing possibly some
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mental health issues
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at the time in avoiding classes?
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The sociological imagination will help us
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look at the personal and the social
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issues involved in our lives.
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That is what that book
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that Mills wrote sought to do.
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It wanted to reconcile the concepts
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of the individual and society.
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Mills' book challenged numerous
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sociological theories and viewpoints as he
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stated that academic sociologist of his
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time were supporting
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elitist ideas and attitudes.
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Although, he experienced pushback
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with the book,
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his perspective enabled sociologist
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to initiate change,
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instead of just observing injustice
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and writing about it.
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Now, how else can his
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concept help us in life?
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Think about when you decide
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to go buy a new pair of shoes.
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You can use the sociological imagination
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to assist you with the purchase.
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Why are you buying the specific
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type of shoe you're buying?
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Is it so that you can go running?
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Why do you go running?
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Will you keep up with your
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running habit for very long?
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Do you want a particular brand because you
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saw them in a video,
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on Instagram, on some sort of commercial?
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Bringing up questions can help us see if
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there are economic circumstances
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that we've taken into consideration.
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They can see if a health study encouraged
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someone to take up running,
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or if they were inspired by a movie,
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or watching a marathon,
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or simply because a friend has asked them
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to come running and they're
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really looking forward to it.
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Looking at the situation can help us see what
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is best for us to know and really
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to help us make the right decision.
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Finally,
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Mills said that if a society lacks
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a sociological imagination,
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it will tend to be apathetic and possibly
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accept all beliefs, traditions,
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and events as unavoidable and natural
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because people will not see
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their role within history.
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People will then be more susceptible
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to commit acts that could be terrible,
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and that they will follow society
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and the pushes of society instead
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of their own personal morals.
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The community also will not
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progress and change when need be.
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Instead, Mills sought for a society to see
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what is real so that it could think
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of other items and so that it
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could make change when need be.
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If you have any other questions or
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comments, write them down below.
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Thank you very much for listening.
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Bye-bye.