The social imagination is defined as the vivid awareness of the relationship between experience and the wider society; the ability to see things socially and how they interact and influence each other.

To have a sociological imagination, a person must be able to pull away from the situation and think from an alternative point of view (Crossman, 2015, para. 8).

With practice, you can use your sociological imagination to better understand the circumstances of an unemployed person, a person of a different gender, a person from another country, or the CEO of a major corporation.

Throughout this course you will use your sociological imagination to view situations from a variety of perspectives.

To prepare for this Discussion:

Read the three articles referenced above.

With these thoughts in mind:

Post a 1- to 2-paragraph response to the following prompts:

Describe a value or behavior that you think studying sociology might help you understand. You can choose a behavior you do not like (e.g., a teenager constantly looking at his or her cellphone) or a value you treasure (e.g., integrity in the workplace).

Explain why you chose the value or behavior.

How might you use your sociological imagination to better understand the value or behavior you chose?

Refer to 2 specific examples from the readings provided or other sources you find. Be sure to include information about each source, including title, author, year, and page number. If you refer to concepts from your Interactive Units, note the unit and element (lecture notes, video, etc.) to which you refer.