Discussion: The Sociological Imagination

 
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).
 
Important Note: This Discussion must be  completed by Day 5 of the first week of the course, or you risk being  dropped from the course. This includes both your initial post and  response post.
 
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:
By Day 3
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.