In sociology, we often use our “sociological imagination” to think about how our lives and the lives of others are influenced by things like gender, race, ethnicity, age, religion, or sexual orientation. Sociologist C. Wright Mills described one’s sociological imagination as being the ability to examine “the intersection between biography and history.”
In this discussion, you will use your sociological imagination to think about how the life of someone living now would have been different 50 to 100 years ago.
After reviewing the resources for this module, select a famous figure from contemporary society (actor, musician, athlete, author, politician, etc.) and, using your own sociological imagination, imagine how different his or her life would have been if he or she were living 50 or 100 years earlier. Briefly discuss the person and the time period you’re imagining them in. Describe what those differences might be, paying particular attention to societal expectations (e.g., would a female primarily do domestic work in the home, or would she work in an office?) and characteristics that might be relevant (e.g., race, gender, class, occupation, marital status, etc.).