SOCI1503 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: The Sociological Imagination
Document Summary
Early sociological theorists, like marx , weber, and. Durkheim, were concerned with the phenomena they believed to be driving social change in their time. Naturally, in pursuing answers to these large questions, they received intellectual stimulation. These founders of sociology were some of the earliest individuals to employ what c. wright mills would later call the sociological imagination: the ability to situate personal troubles and life trajectories within an informed framework of larger social processes. The term sociological imagination describes the type of insight offered by the discipline of sociology. While scholars have quarreled over interpretations of the phrase, it is also sometimes used to emphasize sociology"s relevance in daily life. Durkheim formally established the academic discipline and, with karl marx and max weber, is commonly cited as the principal architect of modern social science and father of sociology. Karl marx, another one of the founders of sociology, used his sociological imagination to understand and critique industrial society.
