Sociological Theories Essay Example for Free

Sociological Theories Essay Mills was able to shift his focus to examine how people influence others based on external social forces that shape personal experiences. Mill’s definition of the sociological imagination allowed for the ability for others to see the impact of social forces on individual’s private and public affiliations. Through Mill’s establishment of the sociological imagination, a perspective on religion could then be observed through viewing religious institutions as merely a product of social foundations (Dandaneau, 146). In Steven P. Dandaneau’s book, Taking it Big, Developing Sociological Consciousness in Postmodern Times, the analysis of chapter seven entitled, Religion and Society- Of Gods and Demons, created an assessment which viewed the nature of religion as a social institution. The arrangement of religion within a society creates a structural analysis of patterns and beliefs that are replicated through the development of social establishments and are maintained within a society by linking social institutions directly to a religious belief. †¦Structural analysis, that is, systematic thinking about how patterns of life and belief are reproduced across time and space such that social institutions- composed of roles, positions, groups, norms, values, and rituals- are created and maintained, thereby building and rebuilding society†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Dandaneau, 145). Therefore, we can conclude that social institutions help to formulate the individual within society by establishing the roles endorsed through the institutional framework. As an outcome, institutions and the individuals within it, consequently determine the structure of a society through using religion as a collective social enterprise (Dandaneau, 146). This establishment of social enterprise requires unique customs and practices in order to maintain social cohesiveness within a specific religious institute. Each religious society is then able to formulate distinct internal divisions that allow for individuals to develop a sociological imagination within a religious society (Dandaneau, 148). Through a historical context, religion has always been a product of human existence. Various religious institutions practiced today are an outcome of recent history after the shift away from Aminism. The transformations within the human consciousness arose as a result from the combination of urbanization and modernity. Through a more urbanized and contemporary society, the growth of the human population was abundant and inevitable. As a result, religion was then used as a form of material comfort for a new, emerging, and suffering population evolving within human history (Dandaneau, 150). Religion prevails today amongst people within a particular culture because of the ability for religions to reproduce themselves based on adaptations made from the establishment of modernization (Dandaneau, 150). However, the use of religion as a means of social change does not necessarily enhance or diminish societal modifications within a structured society. The sociological imagination was an outcome presented by religion partially because of the impact of sciences and nature within the development of the scientific revolution. These imagined responses are understandable, at least on sociological grounds, because never before had humans been so influenced by the scientific revolution. † (Dandaneau, 157). This skepticism of religion was a contributor to the initial expansion of the sociological imagination presented by Mills. Through the use of the sociological imagination today, a dystopian and dying world is presented. For Mills, religion had lost its sacred substance and it s ability to inspire current members. As an outcome of this, Mills offered the â€Å"immanent critique,† which is the involvement of a group’s own principles against them, and the inspiration for them to have their own individualized ideas. â€Å"Immanent critique†¦entails using a group’s own principles against them and encouraging them to live up to their own cherished ideals†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Dandaneau, 159). In conclusion, through the sociological imagination, Mill’s is able to determine the structure, history, and the society that prevails within a religious union. The meaning of religion within a communal setting is bound by social experiences. Despite Mill’s views that the world is dystopian and dying, he summarizes the sociological imagination is evidently an insufficient form of comfort; and that these devout experiences create a critical aspect in religious self-development through both an individual and a community perspective. â€Å"†¦Religions status and meaning for today’s world†¦is a subject that requires the sociological imagination because the sociological imagination is located at the crossroads of social structure, history, and biography. (Dandaneau, 156). In Steven P. Dandaneau’s account in chapter nine, The End of History, he analyzes an outlook presented to emphasize that our history is simply the reality in which we live in. This present reality is defined by former historical events that have contributed to creating and institutionalizing an objective and collective memory of the past. Through his concept of the sociological imagination, he demonstrates his conviction that history and biography should be linked together rather than seperated. In relation to Mill’s theory, the whole purpose of developing the sociological imagination is to simplify involvement in history making, not of history coming to an end. Through the expansion of social structure created by the sociological imagination, the media’s portrayal of historical events impacts the expansion of social change though changing perceptions within the lives of the individual. Through the changes in perception within the lives of an individual, as stated by Mills, we create â€Å"intricate connections between the patterns of their own lives and the historical level of reality. (Dandaneau, 198). Therefore, the sociological imagination cannot be reenacted through mere simulations or second hand accounts of individual experiences because of the failure to confront present humanity. In order to understand the structure of a particular society in history, we must understand the demise of the sociological imagination and how it is applied to existing histo rical accounts. Through the introduction of the industrial revolution and modernity came the introduction of time and space that was initially introduced as â€Å"clock time†(Dandaneau, 200). This mechanical means of measuring passing moments was incorporated into all social life within industrial society. â€Å"With the industrial revolution came â€Å"clock time,† which is rooted in a mechanical means of measuring passing moments and that was used to regiment work and, indeed, all social life† (Dandaneau, 200). Through this idea, the perception of time and space is historically and socially structured through being a product of culture. Through time and space in relation to history, together they represent primary media through which societies can then be regulated. â€Å"Time and space are socially organized and culturally conceived, and they represent primary media through which societies are integrated and regulated. † Through the use of history, human beings have been able to document societal structures based on the idea of learning and understanding past historical events. Through this, individuals can assume that history is continual and it affects all members within a society. As a result of absent facts about history, Mill’s finds that our society has no direction to our immediate history or current historical situations (Dandaneau, 216). This is problematic because with the end of history, â€Å"it is difficult to develop a sociological imagination within a single self-consciousness† (Dandaneau, 218). Consequently though, there are varieties of people who prevail despite the idea of the ending of history. Minority groups have a strong interest in history because they are engaged in a constant struggle for equality. Due to injustices and inequalities, minority groups look back on their history of struggles to determine solutions and to find courage to fight for individualism (Dandaneau, 219). Social and political change can be made possible through the possession of the sociological imagination through an analysis of history. Without this analysis, history will end. Unfortunately, because of inaccurate portrayals of history presented through social media, the end of history faces unpredictable challenges because our society’s institutions are both the solution and the root of postmodern societal problems. It is up to the individual who possesses the sociological imagination to make the realization that postmodern culture is merely a developed hyper reality created through the inaccurate depictions of our human history. â€Å"Through ideological distortion and as a result of its inflection through the mass media, â€Å"history† is today on life support†¦it is the task of the possessor of the sociological imagination to act as if his or her exaggeration is not yet true†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Dandaneau, 222). In conclusion, this chapter emphasizes the necessity for access to â€Å"real historiography (reason) and the means to participate in radical social change (freedom)† rather than inaccurate representations of history through the media and other social institutions. Mill’s sociological imagination allowed him to look at history as a continuing process in order to reach the full understanding of society. Consequently, individuals within our postmodern society fail to intersect with the problem to end history because of the inability to change social institutions. As a result of this, the structure of human history is distorted through mass media. This makes the task of positioning ourselves within current history difficult because of the misrepresented comprehension about our past. â€Å"†¦The problem of the degradation of the public sphere intersects with the problem of the end of history because without a space in which to act toward and fundamentally change postmodern social institutions, a democratic history cannot be effected† (Dandaneau, 223). In chapter ten, Sociology without Society, Steven P. Dandaneau begins by reflecting that the impact of working against the sociological imagination exists for more reasons besides the degradation of public life and the loss of history. He states that â€Å"within sociology itself† (Dandaneau, 225) the sociological imagination follows the complex relationship between altering social structures and frequent individual occurrences within structured social institutions. So what exactly does this mean? The arrangement of sociology without scrutinizes that are derived from collective life and the self-consciousness of others within everyday life ends in the development of sociology without society. Sociology (according to Dandaneau’s accounts from Alan Wolfe) studies the moral basis of society; when according to his opinion, â€Å"Sociology should be a study of people as they interact and relate with other people,† and sociologists fail in this obligation to study people’s complex and morally dependent relationships with others (Dandaneau, 226). This idea of sociology without society is made even more prevalent through the works of Mill’s sociological imagination. Despite Mill’s evident transference of emotions through conveying an understanding of a society, Mills spent little time actively engaged with actual members (Dandaneau, 226). This view of society, the practice of the sociological imagination to create a civil society is â€Å"The product of a sociological perspective that attends primarily to the workings of the modern state and the capitalist market or the integration of both systems working together† (Dandaneau, 227). In postmodern times however, a civil society is thought to be maintained through moral rules learned from childhood experiences carried into adulthood (Dandaneau, 228). The sociological imagination is threatened today by any effort to suppress its pragmatic background (Dandaneau, 229). Ignoring the pragmatic background denies the importance of society itself; thus, the practice of a sociologically meaningful story derived from an accurate historical event is dowsed with the awareness of practicing sociology without society. Through this idea, Mills created a portrait of people that he describes through interactions between people within specific social settings. â€Å"He (Mills) focused attention on the relationship between these individual lives and the changing structure of American capitalist society-its class system, technological shifts, racial segregation, and the social policies that have affected all of these† (Dandaneau, 235). This type of society, and the various types of people in it, can be understood if the type of the social problem is identified. This could create a reconstruction of our social system, â€Å"†¦we stand a chance of restructuring our social systems in such a way as to eliminate the problem as it is experienced in civil society† (Dandaneau, 235). If social problems are derived from social institutions, and people have the ability to form moral bonds with others for civil societies, then it can be concluded that individuals who possess a sociological imagination have the ability for structural change. Even though Mills practiced sociology without society, he deemed it possible to retain a strong connection to people despite the lack of an empirical connection. As emphasized from a passage in chapter ten, â€Å"The possessor of the sociological imagination is as much concerned with ideas as facts; the trick is to bring them into a meaningful relation to one another†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Dandaneau, 239). Through the possession of a sociological imagination, the division of sociological labor provides a historical totality of social and cultural experiences (Dandaneau, 239). The sociological imagination also is a form of self-consciousness that displays the complexities of the world through conceptualization. Mill’s final assertion is that civil society has â€Å"not disappeared altogether† (Dandaneau, 240) and that people must be understood for existing as moral agents, and social beings with moral rules and obligations. In closing, three questions regarding structure, human history, and varieties of people within it, are all parts of Mill’s perspective within the sociological imagination.