THE SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION Sociology is often defined as the science of society. In this lecture it is argued that even more important than science is sociology’s use of the imagination. Indeed, it is suggested that science is not possible without the imagination. This insight, although subject to dispute, has led sociologists, starting with C.Wright Mills, to speak of the “sociological imagination.” The lecture begins by questioning what we mean by the imagination in general and the sociological imagination in particular. It highlights Mills’ concerns with the relationship between “personal troubles” and “public issues.” It then proposes four dimensions or sensibilities of the sociological imagination. THE IMAGINATION “Never does the soul think without phantasm” (imagination) (Aristotle) “the union of deep feeling with profound thought … to see again, those things in which … custom and the common view … had bedimmed all the lustre, had dried up the sparkle and dew drops” (Samuel Taylor Coleridge) “[that] whereby ordinary things should be presented to the mind in an unusual way” (William Wordsworth) THE SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION “being able to ‘think ourselves away’ from the familiar routines of our daily lives in order to look at them anew” Anthony Giddens (Sociology Second Edition, Polity Press, Oxford. 1993:18) “a quality of mind” … [that can] “grasp the interplay of the individual and society, of biography and history, of self and world.” C. Wright Mills The Sociological Imagination (1959) You can read the original at http://www.lclark.edu/~goldman/socimagination.html “A useful starting point for seeing why it is worthwhile to develop a sociological imagination has for some time been C. Wright Mills (1959) observation on the differences between our everyday knowledge of our social environment and a sociological understanding… There is a strong tendency in liberal democracies towards seeing human behaviour in terms of individual characteristics, abilities, choices and preferences… What sociologists, on the other hand, are more interested in is establishing the relationship between what happens to individuals…and the larger processes of social, economic and political change which might be said to lie underneath or behind those happenings… The sociological imagination wrote Mills, ‘enables us to grasp history and biography and the relation between the two in society.” (Van Krieken et. al. 2006: 4) A kind of interpretive imagination which does not treat its subject matter like objects in the natural world. The sociological imagination is anthropological, historical and critical. (Holmes et. al., 2003: 7) FOUR SENSIBILITIES OF THE SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION 1. The Analytical Sensibility (science)What are the components of this situation and how do they relate to one another? The search for trends, correlation, causes, structures, functions and meanings that can be empirically demonstrated.

1. THE SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION
Sociology is often defined as the science of society. In this
lecture it is argued that even more important than science is
sociology’s use of the imagination. Indeed, it is suggested that
science is not possible without the imagination. This insight,
although subject to dispute, has led sociologists, starting with
C.Wright Mills, to speak of the “sociological imagination.” The
lecture begins by questioning what we mean by the imagination
in general and the sociological imagination in particular. It
highlights Mills’ concerns with the relationship between
“personal troubles” and “public issues.” It then proposes four
dimensions or sensibilities of the sociological imagination.
THE IMAGINATION
“Never does the soul think without phantasm” (imagination)
(Aristotle)
“the union
of deep feeling with profound thought … to see again, those
things in which … custom and the common view … had
bedimmed all the lustre, had dried up the sparkle and dew
drops”
(Samuel Taylor Coleridge)
“[that] whereby ordinary things should be presented to the mind

2. in an unusual way”
(William Wordsworth)
THE SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION
“being able to ‘think ourselves away’ from the familiar routines
of our daily lives in order to look at them anew”
Anthony Giddens
(Sociology Second Edition,
Polity Press, Oxford. 1993:18)
“a quality of mind” … [that can] “grasp the interplay of the
individual and society, of biography and history, of self and
world.”

3. C. Wright Mills
The Sociological Imagination (1959)
You can read the original at
http://www.lclark.edu/~goldman/socimagination.html
“A useful starting point for seeing why it is worthwhile to
develop a sociological imagination has for some time been C.
Wright Mills (1959) observation on the differences between our
everyday knowledge of our social environment and a
sociological understanding… There is a strong tendency in
liberal democracies towards seeing human behaviour in terms of
individual characteristics, abilities, choices and preferences…
What sociologists, on the other hand, are more interested in is
establishing the relationship between what happens to
individuals…and the larger processes of social, economic and
political change which might be said to lie underneath or behind
those happenings… The sociological imagination wrote Mills,
‘enables us to grasp history and biography and the relation
between the two in society.”
(Van Krieken et. al. 2006: 4)
A kind of interpretive imagination which does not treat its
subject matter like objects in the natural world. The
sociological imagination is anthropological, historical and
critical.
(Holmes et. al., 2003: 7)
FOUR SENSIBILITIES OF THE SOCIOLOGICAL
IMAGINATION

4. 1. The Analytical Sensibility (science)What are the components
of this situation and how do they relate to one another? The
search for trends, correlation, causes, structures, functions and
meanings that can be empirically demonstrated.
2. The Historical SensibilityWhere does this event, experience,
belief or biography stand in the course of history? How does
this current social phenomenon compare and contrast with past
historical events, experiences and possibilities?
3. The Anthropological Sensibility
How what is is done “here” different from what is done
elsewhere by “others”? Can the experience of different societies
and cultures help us understand our cultural situation and
ourselves better?
4. The Critical Sensibility
How could things be otherwise? Does the way that things
“happen to be” at present “have to be”? Are there better
alternatives for human ecology, communality and personal well
being than how things currently operate?
SOME MAJOR TYPES OF HUMAN SOCIETY
1. Hunter-Gatherer Societies (500,000? years ago)
2. Pastoral and Agrarian Societies (c. 12,000 years ago)
3. Traditional City-states I (Empires and Slavery) (6,000
years)
4. Traditional City-states II (“Feudal”) (800-1850 AD)
5. Modernity --- (200 years of Industrial-Capitalism)
For those who want a Short History of the World, go to:
http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/dev/bigeras.htm
This typology is based very loosely upon the third chapter in the
Third Edition (1997) of Anthony Giddens introductory textbook,
Sociology (Polity Press: Cambridge) which is on reserve in the
Library (at HM51 G444). For a more extended treatment of how

5. we might differentiate various “types” of society see Bodley, J.,
(2000) Cultural Anthropology: Tribes, States and the Global
System, Third Edition. (Mayfield: Mountain View) Library Call
No. GN316 .B63.
FURTHER READING SUGGESTIONS
THE SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION
Mills, C.W. (1999) [1959] The Sociological Imagination.
Oxford University Press. New York. Read Chap. 1. Online at
http://www.lclark.edu/~goldman/socimagination.html
NB* Don’t forget the video series in the Library called “The
Sociological Imagination”. It has 26 Titles on all sorts of
sociological concepts and topics. (Lib Call No. HM51 S6 1991)
ANALYTICAL DIMENSION (Some Examples)
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/D3310114.nsf/home/Home?o
pendocument
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS): Census of Population and
Housing (2006) Results
http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/d3310114.nsf/Home/census
Graetz, B and McAllister, I. (1994) Dimensions of Australian
Society. McMillan Education. South Melbourne.
Harding, A. (2005) “Recent Trends in Income Inequality in
Australia”. NATSEM, 31 March. (Do Statistics always give us
the real picture? Compare this article with the one by Wicks
below)
http://www.natsem.canberra.edu.au/publications/papers/cps/cp0
5/cp2005_005/cp2005_005.pdf
Mouzos, J (2002) Homicide in Australia: 2000-2001 National
Homicide Monitoring Program Annual Report. Australian
Institute of Criminology. Canberra.

6. Neame, P. (1997) Suicide and Mental Health in Australia and
New Zealand. Neame. Brisbane.
Wicks, J. (2005) “The Reality of Income Inequality in
Australia”. Social Policy Paper, No. 1. St. Vincent de Paul
Society. May. (Compare with Harding article above).
http://www.vinnies.org.au/UserFiles/File/NATIONAL/Social%2
0Justice/2005%20May%2029%20%20The%20Reality%20of%20
Income%20Inequality%20in%20Australia.pdf
Zeremes, M. (1995) Unemployment in Queensland: Dimensions
and Trends. Queensland Parliamentary Library. Brisbane.
HISTORICAL DIMENSION
Allen, L. (1998) The ABC-CLIO World History Companion to
Capitalism. ABC-CLIO. Santa Barbara.
Cook, M. (2003) A Brief History of the Human Race. Granta.
London.
Blainey, G. (1975) Triumph of the Nomads: A History of
Ancient Australia. Sun Books, South Melbourne.
Burgman, V. and Lee, J. (1988) A People’s History of Australia
Since 1788. 4 Vols. Fitzroy. McPhee Gribble.
Brumberg, J. (2000) Fasting Girls: The History of Anorexia
Nervosa. Vintage. New York.
Connell, B. and Irving, T. (1992) Class Structure in Australian
History. Longman Cheshire. Melbourne.
Elder, B. (1998) Blood on the Wattle: Massacres and
Maltreatment of Aboriginal Australians Since 1788. Frenches
Forest. New Holland.

7. Fagan, B. (1995) People of the Earth: An Introduction to World
Prehistory. Harper-Collins. New York.
Hawkes, G. (2004) Sex and Pleasure in Western Culture. Polity
Press. Cambridge.
Hepworth, J. (1999) The Social Construction of Anorexia
Nervosa. Sage. London.
Hilton, R. (1985) Class Conflict and the Crisis of Feudalism.
Hambledon Press. London.
Keen, I. (2003) Aboriginal Economy and Society: Australia at
the Threshold of Colonisation. Oxford University Press. South
Melbourne.
Maisels, C. (1999) Early Civilizations of the Old World. The
Formative Histories of Egypt, the Levant, Mesopotamia, India
and China. Routledge. London.
Nicholas, S. (1988) Convict Workers: Re-interpreting
Australia’s Past. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.
Oxley, D. (1996) Convict Maids: The Forced Migration of
Women to Australia. Cambridge University Press. Melbourne.
Perelman, M. (2000) The Invention of Capitalism. Duke
University Press. Durham.
Sahlins, M. (2004) Stone-Age Economics. Routledge. New
York.
Slack, P. (1999) Environments and Historical Change. Oxford
University Press. Oxford.
Svensen, S (1995) Industrial War: The Great Strikes 1890-1894.

8. Ram Press. Wollongong.
Tannahill, R. (1982) Sex in History. Ingram. Chelsea.
Thorpe, B. (1996) Colonial Queensland: Reflections on a
Frontier Society. University of Queensland Press. St Lucia.
Turley, D. (2000) Slavery (New Perspectives on the Past).
Blackwell. Oxford.
Redman, C.L. (1999) Human Impact on Ancient Environments.
University of Arizona Press. Tucson.
Rudgely, R. (1993) Essential Substances: A Cultural History of
Intoxicants in Society. Kodansha. New York.
CROSS-CULTURAL (ANTHROPOLOGICAL) DIMENSION:
Albert, M. (1993) Capitalism Against Capitalism. Whur.
London.
Brettell, C. and Sargent, C. (2001) Gender in Cross-Cultural
Perspective. Prentice-Hall. New Jersey.
Caldicott, J. and Nelson, M. (2003) American Indian
Environmental Ethics: An Ojibwa Case Study. Prentice-Hall.
New York.
Devine, F. and Waters, M. (2004) Social Inequalities in
Comparative Perspective. Blackwell. Oxford.
Druckerman, P. (2007) Lust in Translation: Infidelity from
Tokyo to Tennessee. Viking. Camberwell.
Eller, J. (2005) Violence and Culture: A Cross-Cultural and
Interdisciplinary Approach. Wadsworth. Belmont.

9. Esping-Anderson, G. (1990) The Three Worlds of Welfare
Capitalism. Polity Press. Cambridge.
Farebrow, N. (1975) Suicide in Different Cultures. University
Park Press. Baltimore.
Francoeur, T. (1997) International Encyclopedia of Sexuality.
Continuum. New York.
Frankel, J. (1997) Families of Employed Mothers: An
International Perspective. Garland Publications. New York.
Fossedal, G. (2001) Direct Democracy in Switzerland.
Transaction Press. Somerset.
Gowdy, J. (1998) Limited Wants, Unlimited Means: A Reader
on Hunter-Gatherer Economics and the Environment. Island
Press. Washington.
Henrich, J. (2004) Foundations of Human Sociality:
Experiments and Ethnographic Evidence from 15 Small-Scale
Societies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Hampden-Turner, C and Trompenaars, A. (1995) The Seven
Cultures of Capitalism. Judy Piatkus Publishers.
Kelly, R. C. (2000) Warless Societies and the Origins of War.
University of Michigan Press. Ann Arbor. [N.B.* Could easily
be included under “Historical Dimension” above as well]
Levinson, D. (1989) Family Violence in Cross-Cultural
Perspective. Sage Publications. Newbury Park.
Markowitz, F. and Ashkenazi, M. (1999) Sex, Sexuality and the
Anthropologist.
University of Illinois Press. Illinois
Middleton, D. (2002) Exotics and Erotics: Human Cultural and

10. Sexual Diversity. Waveland Press: Prospect Heights.
Miller and Browning, (2000) With This Ring: Divorce, Intimacy
and Cohabitation from a multi-cultural perspective. JAI Press.
Stamford.
Milner, A. and Quilty, M. (1996) Comparing Cultures.
(Australia in Asia): Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Milner, H. (1990) Sweden-Social Democracy in Practice.
Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Parker, P. (1997) Ethnic Cultures of the World: A Statistical
Refrence. Greenwood Press. London.
Payer, L (1996) Medicine and Culture: Varieties of Treatment in
the United States, England, West Germany and France. Henry
Holt and Company. New York.
Serena, N. (1999) Gender Diversity: Cross-cultural Variations.
Waveland
Press. Long Grove.
Tiffen, R. and Gittins, R. (2004) How Australia Compares.
Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.
Weiner, A. B. (1988) The Trobrianders of Papua New Guinea.
Thomson Wadsworth. Belmont.
Wilson, R. (1997) Human Rights, Culture and Context:
Anthropological Perspectives. Pluto Press. London.
Wilson, T. (2005) Drinking Cultures: Alcohol and Identity.
Berg. New York.

11. Vinken, H., Soeters, J. and Ester, P. (2004) Comparing
Cultures: Dimensions of Culture in a Comparative Perspective.
Brill. Leiden.
Cross-Cultural Research: (official Journal of the Society for
Cross-Cultural Research), sponsored by the Human Relations
Area Files Inc.
CRITICAL DIMENSION.
Bird, D., White, T. and Were, W. (2003) Future Imaginings:
Sexualities and Genders in the New Millennium. UWA Press.
Crawley.
Cooper, R. N. and Layard, R. (2002) What the Future Holds:
Insights from Social Science. MIT Press. M.A.
Disney, J. (1995) The Social Development Summit: Progress
and Prospects. Australian National University. Canberra.
Frankel, B. (2004) Zombies, Lilliputians and Sadists: The
Power of the Living Dead and the Future of Australia.
Freemantle Arts Centre Press. Freemantle.
Giddens, A. (2000) The Third Way and its Critics. Polity Press.
Cambridge.
Gray, I. and Lawrence, G. (2001) A Future for Regional
Australia: Escaping Global Misfortune. Cambridge University
Press. Cambridge.
Hawkins, P., Lovins, A. and Lovins, H. (1999) Natural
Capitalism: The Next Industrial Revolution. Earthscan. London.
Hahnel, R. (2005) Economic Justice and Democracy: From
Competition to Cooperation. Routledge. New York.
Hudson, W. (2004) Restructuring Australia: Regionalism,

12. Republicanism and Reform of the Nation-State. Federation
Press. Annandale.
Leigh, A., Madden, D., McGregor, D., and Tynan, P. (2004)
Imagining Australia: Ideas for Our Future. Allen and Unwin.
Crows Nest.
Low, N. et. al. (2005) The Green City: Sustainable Homes,
Sustainable Suburbs. University of New South Wales. Sydney.
Mason, C. (2003) The 2030 Spike: Countdown to Global
Catastrophe. Earthscan Publications. London.
Marsh, I. and Yencken, D. (2004) Into the Future: The Neglect
of the Long Term in Australian Politics. Australian
Collaboration. Melbourne.
McDonald. P. (1995) Places for Everyone: Social Equity in
Australian Cities and Regions. Australian Urban and Regional
Development Review. Canberra.
McEwan, S. (2004) Ecologic: Creating a Sustainable Future.
Powerhouse Publishing. Haymarket.
Melman, S. (2001) After Capitalism: From Managerialism to
Workplace Democracy. Random House. New York.
Metcalfe, B. (1995) From Utopian Dreaming to Communal
Reality: Cooperative Lifestyles in Australia. UNSW Press.
Sydney.
Perper, T., Martha, C., and Francoeur R. (1999) Sex, Love and
Marriage in the 21st Century: The next Sexual Revolution.
iUniverse.
Read, S., Rosemann, J. and Eldijk, J. (2005) Future City.
Routledge. London.

13. Roussopolous, D. (2004) Participatory Democracy: Prospects
for Democratizing Democracy. Black Rose Books. Montreal.
Rowse, T. (2002) Indigenous Futures: Choice and Development
for Aboriginal and Islander Australia. UNSW Press. Sydney.