Sociological Imagination Report

Introduction
The sociological imagination is a term given by Charles W Mills used to describe the ability to grasp the connections between personal troubles and public issues within society (Mills 1959). Mills also identifies that the ability to have awareness of social structures with clarity is to be able to trace the connections within a variety of different environments (Mills, 1959). These connections can be made when analysing one’s family tree and the variances between different generations.
Method
Information for this report was collected through verbal communication with members of the older generations of the family tree. This method was quite efficient for gaining facts quickly. Information that was unable to be gathered through

Historical changes that occurred in previous generations, such as: the great depression, world wars and migration to Australia are public issues that affected the older generations of the family and has in turn impacted the subsequent generations. A specific example present in this family tree, is the aspect of migration. On both the Ray and Vakararawa sides, migration to Australia occurred at different points in time, however, both incurred major change for all members of the family. The Vakararawa – Ray marriage was a multi-racial union and had brought different racial and cultural aspects to the family. This marriage added another layer of diversity which may not have been accepted in earlier generations due to the cultural norms of the time, and would not have come to be, if migration in the earlier generations didn't occur. The migration resulted in not only cultural and economic changes but also structural changes.
Structural impacts on this family tree include a change from patriarchy in the older generations of the Ray side of the family, and more recently on the Vakararawa side, to a system where both men and women provide equally for the family. This is inline with the broader societal change of moving away from patriarchy and incorporating two incomes into the family. This point also highlights the change

This was due to the lack of written information, as well as the language barriers present. These barriers made it nearly impossible to gain information on the older generations as those that may have had the information were unable to communicate it or have already passed away.
Those completing this research that are of an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent, may also relate to these challenges. Due to the fact that many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders utilise storytelling and verbal communication as their main form of information transfer. It could be imagined that finding out information in regards to the older generations would be extremely difficult, due to the lack of written information as well as communication and language barriers present. Another aspect that would truly affect the Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander’s ability to gain this information, was the time of the stolen generation. When the Indigenous children were encouraged to forget and not talk about their culture. This created a black hole of information, and illustrates a potential issue that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders may