sociological imagination.

According to sociologist C. Wright Mills, people often believe that their private lives can only be explained in terms of their personal successes and failures. Individuals fail to see the links between their own lives and the larger society around them. The process of interpreting your individual life in the context of your community or the society in which you live is called sociological imagination.

1. Choose 1 of the following social problems:
   • Being unemployed and the impact of unemployment on the individual and society
   • Being an alcoholic and the broader impact of alcoholism on the individual and society
   • Being a drug addict and the broader impact of drug addiction on the individual and society
   • Being an unmarried pregnant teenager and the impact that unmarried teen pregnancy has on the individual and society
   • Being a homeless person and the broader issue of poverty in society
2. Using your sociological imagination, discuss the connection between the individual experience and the social impact of the social problem that you chose.

1. Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, and Auguste Comte were four of the individuals responsible for the early development of sociology. Write about the major contributions ONE of these great thinkers made to the science of sociology.

2. Develop an essay that explains the development of sociology, those individuals responsible for its early development (examining briefly the contributions these people made to sociology), and the accepted definition of sociology today.

3. How is sociology (and the sociological imagination) different from just sitting on a bench and people watching all day?

4. What is a theory? Why are theories necessary in sociology? What is the relationship between theory and fact?

5. Discuss at least three ways sociology can make a difference in your world.