Introduction
Individual and societal issues are often distinguished in people’s perceptions. However, their connection is addressed in the sociological imagination approach developed by Mills (Kendall, 2020). This framework posits that one’s personal issues are influenced by society. One of the problems that can be analyzed using sociological imagination is homelessness. While some believe that individuals become homeless due to their moral failures or financial decisions, sociological imagination offers an in-depth analysis of political and economic systems that lead to homelessness and keep people without a home.
Understanding Sociological Imagination
The idea of sociological imagination is based on the belief that people’s lives are interconnected. Mills argues that a connection exists between what the greater society does and how an individual goes through life. Therefore, one’s issues may be a product of social influence, and one’s agency over resolving a problem may be limited by one’s background and community-wide perceptions (Kendall, 2020).
Similarly, concerns about the global state of society are influential and can impact people’s lives. This approach argues that ignoring this connection leads to major issues, apathy, interpersonal and public conflicts, and government-level problems in the economy and politics (Kendall, 2020). Sociological imagination interconnects people’s lives to see how the larger systems affect each individual.
How Sociological Imagination Helps Understand Homelessness
For example, homelessness is a major global issue that has persisted through centuries, leaving many people without a home. Recent statistics show that approximately half a million people in the United States alone do not have a stable and safe place to spend the night. The rise in displacement rates is also apparent in a very vulnerable category of children and adolescents – young people who do not possess full rights and the ability to support themselves financially (Giano et al., 2020).
Nevertheless, homelessness is often viewed as a personal failure, an inability to find a job or a relationship that would provide one with a home (Giano et al., 2020). Displaced persons may be treated disrespectfully or dismissed when rebuilding their lives. Sociological imagination can explain the persistent existence of homelessness in society, connecting it to such major societal issues as the failing economy, low-class mobility, child maltreatment, LGBT persecution, and more.
Suppose a person loses their income and home after being laid off in a country-wide economic crisis. In that case, they cannot predict or control the circumstances surrounding this event. Similarly, a young child with abusive parents may not have financial support but leave the household to escape violence. These problems cannot be considered individual, as they do not result from one’s poor decisions but from external factors (Kendall, 2020).
Thus, the sociological imagination perspective shifts the focus away from one’s life choices to the bigger picture of how a person cannot escape becoming homeless (Kendall, 2020). This approach also explains why homelessness persists in society—people dismiss the role of the environment and highlight personal failures as a source of problems.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the idea of sociological imagination offers a way to look at the world and individual people without separating their problems into two categories. This framework helps explain many issues that currently exist in society while also showing why they are not resolved. Homelessness is an example that demonstrates how many factors lead to the same outcome for people who cannot support themselves. Sociological imagination invites one to consider the interconnectedness of individual lives and the issues that arise from ignoring these links.
References
Giano, Z., Williams, A., Hankey, C., Merrill, R., Lisnic, R., & Herring, A. (2020). Forty years of research on predictors of homelessness. Community Mental Health Journal, 56, 692-709. Web.
Kendall, D. E. (2020). Sociology in our times: The essentials (12th ed.). Cengage Learning.