Chapter 1 describes the Sociological Imagination, or the connection between the micro perspective and macro perspective. The micro perspective is the
experience of a single individual. C. Wright Mills also referred to the micro perspective as a personal trouble. The macro perspective, also called public
issues, is the collection of hundreds or thousands or millions of individual experiences. While a clinical psychologist who meets with a client might be more
interested in the micro perspective (a single persons experience), sociologists examine patterns and trends of groups or society as a whole, which is called
the macro perspective. We can use these two vantage points to examine various issues around us and the Sociological Imagination is the INTERSECTION
between the two. In other words, where does the individual fit in the landscape of society?
The purpose of this assignment is to examine one topic through both of these perspectives in order to demonstrate the Sociological Imagination.
Make sure you review Chapter 1 and Ch 2 as well as the Power Point notes and videos prior to completing this essay.
Step 1: Choose a topic
Choose a topic that you have experienced as a personal trouble. You may want to refer to the list of social topics provided below to drum up ideas.
Examples of social topics (you are not limited to this list):
Bullying Poverty Having a religious practice
Parenting Sickness or medical problem Educational attainment
Unemployment Natural disaster Discrimination or inequality
Migrating to another country Homelessness Marriage or Divorce
Run in with the criminal justice system Foster care Victim of a crime
Step 2: Become familiar with the possible sources and choose TWO
In order to write about the macro perspective, we will need some big data. The organizations below collect data at the society-level. Browse the data sets
using the websites below for the topic that you have selected in order to make sure that information is available for it.
PEW collects data from a nationally representative sample of Americans on social issues. They measure public opinion and document the experiences of the
public on a range of subjects.
PEW Research Center: Go to Topics to search for yours. http://www.pewresearch.org/
b. The General Social Survey, or GSS, is a survey questionnaire that collects data from a nationally representative sample of Americans. They have been
collecting information about behaviors and opinions by using the same questions for over 40 ye
ars, which allows us to see change over time.
GSS View Key Trends: https://gssdataexplorer.norc.org/trends
c. The U.S. Census Bureau and the Center for Disease Control are governmental organizations. The Census Bureau publishes data collected from the Census,
which is the largest survey in America that attempts to include everyone in the entire country every 10 years.
U.S. Census Bureau: Go to Topics to search for yours. https://www.census.gov/
d. The CDC collects health information, which comes from all doctors offices and hospitals across the United States.
Center for Disease Control (CDC)s Data and Statistics Division: https://www.cdc.gov/datastatistics/index.html
Step 3: Write the essay
Once you have chosen a topic and verified that at least two of the possible sources contain data about that topic, you can begin writing the essay. While
incorporating our course concepts (see note* below for more details), write a 1-2-page essay (intro, body, conclusion). The body of your essay should
address the following objectives:
Paragraph 1: Describe the micro perspective. What is your personal experience/history with this topic? In this paragraph, you are only describing your
experience so no outside data or references are needed.
Paragraph 2: Describe the macro perspective. What are the sociological trends and patterns of this topic? How many people experience/are affected by this
topic? In this paragraph, we need to rely on data sources so incorporate what you have found from PEW, Census, GSS, and/or CDC and be sure to include intext citations as well as a bibliography.
*Important Note About Incorporating Course Concepts: Because I use these assignments to evaluate your learning of our course materials, it is imperative
that you include at least 5 terms or concepts from the chapters associated with this assignment. You can incorporate them anywhere within the paper.
Define, explain, apply these terms in a way that demonstrates your understanding of the chapter material. Be sure to include in-text citations each time that
you refer to the textbook.
Sources: Two big data sources and our textbook
All essays should be considered college-level writing. Apply all principles of grammar and ethics in your writing. Include in-text citations whenever you quote
from or paraphrase an outside source. Include a bibliography of sources in ASA citation format at the bottom on your entry.
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