What is the sociological imagination? Illustrate your answer with a discussion of a contemporary social problem.. Sociology
Sociological imagination is where issues can be analysed from different angles. This concept was devised by American sociologist C. Wright Mills (Mills, 1959). It allows problems to be separated and viewed from different standpoints of personal troubles and public issues. It is a practical means of removing the assumptions that private troubles and public issues are not interconnected but rather by associating private troubles on a larger scale where it can or has developed into a public issue. A contemporary social problem where this is evident will be unemployment where it can be seen as a personal trouble whereby one is underqualified or has no interest in finding work but in reality, there is a plethora of other problems associated with it. When this problem multiplies in communities, it can develop into a public issue. An example can be when this unemployment leads to desperation it leads to crime and other problems