, Ravelli/Webber: Exploring Sociology: A Canadian Perspective, Third Edition
Chapter 01: Understanding the Sociological Imagination
1) Define the "sociological imagination" and discuss how this "quality of mind" would
apply to you as a university student.
Answer:
Sociological imagination—the ability to understand the dynamic relationship between
individual lives and the larger society.
As a university student, this quality of mind would allow you to see the impact of social
variables, such as class, gender, race, age, family background, community, etc., on the
learning environment (i.e., choice of courses and programs) and on the interactions
between the various categories of people at the institution (students, faculty, employees,
administrators, etc.).
Diff: Moderate
Type: ES
Page Reference: 4-5
Skill: Conceptual/Applied
Objective: Describe, and provide personal reflections about, C.W. Mills's concept of the
sociological imagination.
2) Choose a social problem and explore it from a sociological perspective, making
reference to the ideas of C.W. Mills and Peter Berger. How has this exploration impacted
your initial views on the social problem? Explain Peter Berger's use of the terms general,
particular, strange, and familiar.
Answer:
Answers will vary.
Sociological imagination and quality of mind
General—the larger social forces acting on an individual in society
Particular—seemingly unique events or circumstances
Strange—asking why things are the way they are rather than just accepting them as
normal and familiar
Familiar—the usual and normal—our acceptance of the way things are without really
understanding the reasons
Diff: Challenging
Type: ES
Page Reference: 4-6
Skill: Applied
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Canada Inc.
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, Ravelli/Webber: Exploring Sociology: A Canadian Perspective, Third Edition
Chapter 01: Understanding the Sociological Imagination
Objective: Describe, and provide personal reflections about, C.W. Mills's concept of the
sociological imagination; explain Peter Berger's use of the terms general, particular,
strange, and familiar.
3) Choose three social factors that you believe have been most influential for defining the
person you have become. From a sociological perspective, discuss how these social
factors have had an influence on your life.
Answer:
Answers will vary. Choice of: minority status (visible minority, physical disability,
mental disability, LGBT), gender, socio-economic status, family structure, urban-rural
differences.
Understanding of the way these factors can influence one’s opportunities or life chances.
Diff: Challenging
Type: ES
Page Reference: 7-12
Skill: Applied
Objective: Describe, and provide personal reflections about, C.W. Mills's concept of the
sociological imagination.
4) Discuss some of the key features of Canadian sociology and some key Canadian
sociologists whose work embodies these features.
Answer:
Five defining features and sociologists:
1. Geography (survival; harsh and hostile elements) and regionalism (Quebec):
Brym and St. Pierre.
2. Political economy (peace, order, and good government): Wallace Clement.
3. Staples thesis (hewers of wood, drawers of water): Harold Innis.
4. Canadianization movement (the Canadian sociological perspective): Dawson,
Hughes, Innis.
5. Radical nature (macrosociology, feminism, social change—structures of power):
Margrit Eichler, Dorothy Smith.
Diff: Challenging
Type: ES
Page Reference: 21-24
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Canada Inc.
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, Ravelli/Webber: Exploring Sociology: A Canadian Perspective, Third Edition
Chapter 01: Understanding the Sociological Imagination
Skill: Factual
Objective: Describe the defining features of Canadian sociology.
5) Peter Berger is an American sociologist who defined the sociological perspective as
the ability to see the world from two distinct and complementary perspectives—seeing
the general in the particular and the strange in the familiar. Apply your sociological
imagination to any event of your choosing; it could be a sporting event, preparing dinner,
attending class, or any other activity that you carry out. Write a few paragraphs
describing your chosen event. At the end of your “seeing the strange in the familiar,”
ensure that you also include a description of the event in familiar language.
Answer:
Answers will vary but should demonstrate good knowledge of the concepts and the
ability to apply them to a given event.
Diff: Challenging
Type: ES
Page Reference: 6
Skill: Applied
Objective: Explain Peter Berger’s use of the terms general, particular, strange, and
familiar.
6) Discuss the sociological perspective and the relationship between social forces and
personal social identity, and give a modern example.
Answer:
C.W. Mills suggested that people who do not, or cannot, recognize the social origins and
character of their problems may be unable to respond to these problems effectively. In
effect, failing to appreciate how individual challenges are influenced by larger social
forces diminishes a person’s ability to understand and resolve them. For Mills, the
individual and the social are inextricably linked, and we cannot fully understand one
without the other. As such, many personal troubles never become social issues because
people rarely equate what is happening to them with the larger social worlds in which
they exist.
Mills argued that sociologists need to expose individuals to what he called the
sociological imagination, which is the ability to understand the dynamic relationship
between individual lives and the larger society. It involves stepping outside of your own
condition and looking at yourself from a new perspective—seeing yourself as the product
of your family, income level, race, and gender.
Examples will vary by student.
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Canada Inc.
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