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Homework#1

Homework#1

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1. What is the sociological imagination? How does it affect your life?

Sociological imagination is the ability to appreciate the structural basis for individual

problems (p.10). By structural basis, the factors within a community or a society which

contribute to the emergence of social problems or issues. Therefore sociological

imagination links the individual issues and problems to the basis for them present in the

community or the society.

In my case, I often apply sociological imagination to my behaviors and social problems. I

attribute my road rage to the deranged traffic situation in my area.

2. What is the sociological perspective?

The sociological perspective (p.4) is the opinion that the social backgrounds of people

impact their attitudes, behaviors, and chances in life. In this connection, it is implied that

we people not merely individuals rather they are social entities fully embedded in society

in which they exist. Though no two people are the same and they cry from each other in a

lot of ways, though they may have common social backgrounds like gender, race and

ethnicity, and social class. These shared qualities make the people more alike than they

would otherwise have been.

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3. What does it mean to say things are socially constructed?

This implies that several behaviors, traits and attributed have a social basis and they

appear the way they are because of the social determinants for them. For example, the

sociologists identify that emotions are socially constructed, as they stem from the roles

we play and the situations in which we find ourselves (p.170)

4. Briefly summarize functional theory, conflict theory, symbolic interactionism and

exchange theory.

The functional theory (p.111) assumes the status quo is generally good and sudden social

change is undesirable, conflict theory assumes the status quo is generally bad. It thus

views sudden social change in the form of protest or revolution as both desirable and

necessary to reduce or eliminate social inequality and to address other social ills

The conflict theory (p.21) emphasizes that different groups in society have different

interests stemming from their different social positions. These different interests in turn

lead to different views on important social issues.

Symbolic interactionism is a micro approach (p.22) that focuses on the interaction of

individuals and on how they interpret their interaction.

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1. What is the sociological imagination? How does it affect your life? Sociological imagination is the ability to appreciate the structural basis for individual problems (p.10). By structural basis, the factors within a community or a society which contribute to the emergence of social problems or issues. Therefore sociological imagination links the individual issues and problems to the basis for them present in the community or the society. In my case, I often apply sociological imagination to my behaviors and social problems. I attribute my road rage to the deranged traffic situation in my area. 2. What is the sociological perspective? The sociological perspective (p.4) is the opinion that the social backgrounds of people impact their attitudes, behaviors, and chances in life. In this connection, it is implied that we people not merely individuals rather they are social entities ful ...
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