The Sociological Imagination: The Promise By C. Wright Mills

142 Words1 Pages
Within chapter 1 "The Promise" in The Sociological Imagination, (1959), C. Wright Mills focuses upon the connection between personal troubles and their linkage to social trends. Throughout the opening chapter, Mills believed the men and women of the 20th century were to intolerant, not possessing the quality of mind necessary to grasp biography and history within society. Further, Mills emphasised the importance of seeing the connections between social structure and individual agency, whereby he identifies the difference between “private troubles” and “public issues”. C. Wright Mills aims to look beyond the individual, thus considering the forces of race, gender, social class and their impact on shaping one 's behaviour and decision making.