Sociological Imagination Has Affected My Life

The Sociological imagination helps us connect our own problems with the problems of society and to our own biographies. We as individuals must find the cause of our problems, and must have the ability to understand the causes of problems in society (Mills 1959). Having a sociological imagination is vital, we must have a way to relate our personal problems to the problems of society as a whole. Without this ability, we do not have the means to relate to how societal issues affect us. (Mills 1959) Social forces are anything in society that can bring about change and influence others. These social forces are created by society without even realizing it. Every action we take in our individual lives is influenced by some social forces. Social forces

As an African American woman in her 50’s that is not married, but in an interracial relationship with a white man, has no children, and has a felony on her record. It seems I run the gambit on what social forces shape my life. For this paper, I will speak to the felony and how it impacts every aspect of my life. It appears this felony has follows me around, even though I have complied with what the system asked of me. A felony on one’s record affects everything, employment, housing, and even schooling. When I applied for OSU the application asked if you have ever had a felony, I answered yes. At that point, my application was red flagged and I was sent to student conduct. After jumping through several hoops, I was informed that I could attend but that I could not utilize any of the college housing options, good thing I already had a place to live. When we are dealing with the criminal justice system they inform us that we must become productive members of society. How is this possible? After serving our time whether that be prison, jail or probation, we are still punished for our minor or major crimes or “deviant behavior”

So, what is considered deviant is determined not so much by the behaviors themselves or the people that commit them, but by the reaction of others to these behaviors. (Hirschi 1969). In functionalism, the current debate leans towards the approach that is concerned with the way different components of society add to the whole. Deviance is viewed as a key component of a functioning society. Emile Durkheim believes that deviance is functional, he argues that it challenges peoples present views. Moreover, when deviance is punished it reaffirms currently held social norms, which also contribute to society. (Durkheim 1893) Lastly, Conflict Theory states that social and economic factors are the cause of crime and deviance. Unlike functionalist, conflict theorist do not see these factors as positive functions of society, it is seen as inequality in the system, which racial and socioeconomical factors play a part. (Akers1991) While crime is often associated with the poor, crimes committed by the wealthy and powerful remain under punished and costly problem within society. (FBI