The Influence Of Sociological Imagination

‘Sociological Imagination' as explained by C. Wright Mills is an individual's ability to recognize the connection between the course of their own lives and the role that historical and societal changes play in the personal decisions they make (Mills, 1959). Unaware of the effect of this connection on the kind of people they are becoming, they are unable to solve personal troubles as they look for solutions within themselves as a biographical entity (Mills, 1959). They fail to identify the structural transformation that is responsible for their private troubles. Dilemmas that individuals face within themselves or amongst direct relations with others are known as personal troubles (Mills, 1959). In contrast, public issues, are troubles that

Even families with similar financial statuses and religious values had a difference of opinion. Through social imagination, it can be asserted that the problems that students face in convincing their parents are more biographical and personal. The biographical aspect of social imagination focuses on the personal lifestyle of an individual and the immediate environment they live in and interact in every day (Mills, 1959). Students who stayed back often belonged to conservative families, while students who moved away were tied to more liberal families and values. We can link this back to the two types of parenting techniques evaluated by Annette Lareau. Most liberal families preferred concerted cultivation over accomplishment of natural growth. Concerted cultivation is a parenting technique that involves parents taking an active role in fostering activities and opportunities for their children (McKenna, 2012). In contrast, accomplishment of natural growth is a parenting technique that involves parents sustaining their child's growth through authority (McKenna,

There has always been a debate as to which universities are better, Canadian or American. Most of us chose the States as our desired destination due to its collection of highly-ranked, well-known universities. However, this year, like a lot of international students around the world, my peers and I changed our minds and were determined to go to Canada. According to the Atlantic, American universities experienced a 39% decline in international undergraduate students just from the Middle Eastern region (Bendix, 2017). In contrast, Canadian universities like Concordia and the University of Alberta have experienced a 27% increase in their international undergraduate applications from countries like India (+233%), Mexico (+325%) and Iran (+317%) (ICEF, 2017). Surprisingly, many Canadian universities have seen a 50% increase in American students this year (ICEF, 2017). One of the main reasons for this sudden change was the rising ethnocentrism in the States during and post 2017 elections. Ethnocentrism is the practice of judging another culture by the standards of one's own culture and usually creates a divide between societies as one culture is considered superior to the other (LSE, 2017). During the election, President-elect, Donald Trump used ethnocentrism to create anger, fear, and divide between the ethnic majorities and minorities through ideas such as the immigration ban