The Usefulness of “The Sociological Imagination” in Relation to Gender, Social Inequality and Suicide

Sociological imagination is the “quality of mind” (Mills, 1959: p. 4) that enables us to look outside our everyday life and see the entire society as we were an outsider with the benefit of acknowledge of human and social behaviour. It allows us to see how society shapes and influences our life experiences. Is the ability to see the general in the particular and to “defamiliarise the familiar” (Bauman 1990: p. 15). According to C. Wright Mills, it “enables its possessor to understand the larger historical scene in terms of its meaning for the inner life and the external career of a variety of individuals” (Mills, 1959: p. 5). These
This means that families with a low income can’t send their children for further education. The difference between rich and poor is echoed at the other and of the educational spectrum, where student from rich families are able to enroll faster for four years further education. Similarly children born in wealthy families are more likely to enjoy health, succeed in their life’s work and live well until old age. We have to accept that we don’t have equal social status, classes and circles and we have to agree to the fact that the world is becoming more unequal.

Sociological imagination also makes us aware of suicide and demonstrates how social forces affect human behavior. Suicide is “not just a medical or psychological problem of the individual. It is more than that – it is a problem of society” (Caroline Smyth, Malcolm MacLachlan and Anthony Clare: p. 4). Durkheim, found that social influences rather than personal caused the higher rates of suicide; but there might exist inclinations that vary from country to country. In order to explain these differences, Durkheim examined social integration. He found that when social integration is relatively low, suicide rates tend to be higher. Let’s take an example of men, Protestants, wealthy people and unmarried; each have higher rate of suicide than woman, Roman Catholics, Jews, the poor and the married people. Looking at the graph of global suicide