Choose a social problem, and explain how the sociological imagination, as defined by C. Wright Mills, can be used to understand the causes and consequences of that problem. Be sure that you address and apply the components of the sociological imagination in your response.
Alcoholism is a social problem responsible for breaking up families, social promiscuities such as rape, lack of a working force, and increased cost of health care. Alcoholism can be understood through socio imagination by analyzing the causes and consequences of the issue in society. C. Wright Mills describes sociological imagination as “the vivid awareness of the relationship between experience and the wider society" (Brewer, 2003). The imagination creates images on the way things are viewed socially, their interaction, and how they impact each other. In this case, sociological imagination will help view the alcoholism problem from an alternative view point. The society views alcoholism as a negative force affecting men mostly, and they abandon their families. However, the element of an individual is forgotten, but the sociological imagination element of the individual is introduced. It helps understand why people, especially men get into alcoholism, and factors such as social, economic and culture that push them to addiction.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Social imagination helps understand the connection between individual experience, social structure, and agency. Double standards can be the causative of alcoholism, where the social structure defines men as the providers, leaders and are given mot roles, thus burdening them. Men are therefore expected to provide for their families, educate the children, and also lead, and it leads to stress. Such makes these individual turns to alcoholism as a way of fighting stress. Other factors, such as economic inequality and structural poverty, may also be responsible for the addiction. Alcohol abuse thus reflects the problems faced by men in society daily. The future possibility is another imagination, where alcohol abuse is expected to increase. Men will be expected to compete equally with women, and more alcohol companies are advertising their products, thus attracting more male clients.
4. What are the key components of culture? Discuss at least three components of culture, giving specific examples of each component.
Culture defines the lifestyle of a group of people. It describes the nonmaterial and material elements of the people involved. The critical aspects of culture are language, symbols, and rituals. Symbols represent things that evoke different reactions and emotions. There are symbols that are used for nonverbal communication while others are fact material objects. In the United States, the national flag is a prime example of a symbol (Barkan, 2012). It is not just a piece of cloth but a symbol of freedom, democracy, patriotism, American values, and inspires pride.
Language defines people as they are able to understand each other when they communicate. Ethnic groups have their languages with words they can interact with and rarely understood by outsiders. In the United States, English has been chosen as the universal language which connects people from different cultures, but they can understand each other. The nation has gone to the extent of banning bilingual education in public schools, which offers all American people, including immigrants, to learn the universal language, English.
Rituals are the traditional ceremonies or procedures of carrying out some activities such as marking life transitions. The routines are considered sacred, and they are passed down from one generation to the next. In some cultures, rituals are used in marking gender identity. In Zambia, for example, the Bemba culture has a ceremony known as chisungu, where girls are taught the secrets, songs, and dances of women (Barkan, 2012). The ceremony takes one month and it meant to prepare the girls into womanhood. It is also a way of preparing the girls to get ready for marriage by learning what will be expected of them when they have families.
5. Why is socialization so important to the development of our self-concept? Explain the role of socialization in shaping our lives, using at least three concepts from the course material in your explanation.
Socialization is essential in the development of personal self-concept as it acquaints an individual with the norms of a particular group, thus learning how to behave. An individual develops personal concept and becomes aware of themselves thus able to participate in a group through achieving the group’s expectations. Developing self-concept starts at primary levels, where a child develops socializing attributes through the family. At this stage, a child develops a perception of self-expression or isolation, depending on how accommodating the family members are. Primary socialization affects the self-concept a person will have in adulthood. Secondary socialization takes place in schools’ years where a person interacts with peer mates. Self-concept is developed in a different environment, and it requires a person to learn how to adopt, for instance, in a new working environment. A person who has to learn to interact with work colleagues, which is necessary for teamwork.
The theory of cognitive development by Piaget illustrates that nature is responsible for socialization and development of intelligence. The environment children are exposed to determines their levels of intelligence, how they socialize, and that shapes their future and self-perception. Freud's psychoanalytic theory describes how gender perception in children affects their interaction. Some children are isolated due to their gender, especially during adolescence, when physical changes begin to show. If a teenager girl feels rejected, they develop a perception where they are not accepted, and that affects how they interact with others and form relationships in the future. Group socialization theory describes the influence of peer groups instead of parental figures in developing self-concept. It happens with the teenagers who are seeking to fit in a specific group, and most of them end up engaging in activities such as drug abuse so that they can fit in ( Pesu, Aunola, Viljaranta, & Nurmi, 2016) . It affects their future life and ability to make decisions without being influenced by peer groups.
References
Barkan, S. E. (2012, December 29). Sociology: Brief Edition ; 2.2 The Elements of Culture. Retrieved October 10, 2019, from https://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/sociology-brief-edition-v1.1/s05-02-the-elements-of-culture.html# .
Brewer, J. D. (2003). C. Wright Mills and the Sociological Imagination. In C. Wright Mills and the Ending of Violence (pp. 17-44). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Pesu, L., Aunola, K., Viljaranta, J., & Nurmi, J. E. (2016). The development of adolescents’ self-concept of ability through grades 7-9 and the role of parental beliefs. Frontline Learning Research , 4 .
