GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL CHAPTER ONE.

                                                       

                                                   CHAPTER ONE

                                               Background of the study

1.1 Introduction (not more than 20 words): Briefly explain what is

 contained in chapter one:

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1.2 Background of the study (About 200 words)

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1.3 Significance of the study: What will be the contribution of

 your study to the company under the study, to the field of public

 relations to future researchers………… ( About 30 words).

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1.4 Statement of the problem: State/declare what you want to 

achieve in this study and the importance of achieving it OR State

 the problem/ opportunity directly, state its magnitude and the

 associated effects (Not more than 35 words)

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1.5 Objective of the study (about 20 words)

The main objective of the study is to……………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….(Paraphrase your research).

1.5.1 Specific objectives (Three or four specific objectives may suffice)

.

1.5.1.1To……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

1.5.1.2To…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

1.5.1.3To…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

1.5.1.4To…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

1.6 Research question (Each of the above specific objectives is 

turned in to a question)

1.6.1………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

1.6.2…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

1.6.3……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

1.6.4………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....................................................................................................

1.7 Scope of the study (indicate specific dates when data collection

 will be carried out, and chosen area of the study). It may be around

 25 words:

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1.8 Definitions of the key terms ( The number depends….. They 

are those which you consider to be unclear to your readers).

1.8.1……………………………………………………….

1.8.2………………………………………………………..

1.8.3…………………………………………………………

1.8.4…………………………………………………………

 etc.

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY

SO 111:  INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY

Bibliography:

1       Goldthhorpe E.J  An Introduction to Sociology, Cambridge University Press, 1971

2       Breger, LP (1971), Invitation to Sociology, A humanistic Perspective, Penguine  books,

3       Elshleman, J.R., Cashion B.G, Basirico L.A; Sociology; An Introduction, 4^th Ed., 1993,HarperCollins College Publishers, New York

4       Kendall D., Sociology in our times, 4^th ed., 2003, Thomson Learning Inc., Toronto.

5       Bhushan V.., Sachdeva D.R, An Introduction to Sociology, 33^rd Ed, Kitab Mahal, 2001, Allahabad, India

6       Hughes M, kroehler J.C; Zanden W.J: Sociology the Core, 6^th Ed., McGraw-Hill, New York, 2002.

1.0 MEANING OF SOCIOLOGY

        ETYMOLOGY:

Socius (Latin) – Companion/Associate

Logos (Greek) – word/study

Sociology refers to the study of society

In a broader sense, Sociology means the systematic or scientific study of human social behaviour, It studies the processes and patterns of individual and group interaction, the different forms of organizations of social groups, the relationship among them, and group influences on individual behaviour.

Sociology is interested in the social lives of human beings. It focuses on their modes of interactions, interrelations, social rules, and processes that govern groups, associations and institutions, of both local and global nature. Sociology studies not only rules that bind individuals and societies together, but also the reasons  which separates groups, societies and the probable measures to remedy of social disintegration.

Sociology has a wide range of coverage and scope. Its areas of concern include: Social Inequality, Social Inequality, Economic sociology, Environmental sociology, Economic development, Human ecology, Industrial sociology, Medical sociology , Political sociology,  Rural sociology ,Sociology of religion, Sociology of science and technology,  Sociology of Markets, Social demography , Sociology of disaster , Urban sociology , Computational sociology , Sociology of deviance

In a nut shell, sociology is concerned with human interactions  and interrelations, their conditions and consequences. It studies the whole social life or life of man in the society. Social life refers to all activities, rules, regulations, beliefs, habits, etc of men that defines their interpersonal relationship, individually or in groups, and all types of social organizations.

Social conditions and consequences: ways in which groups and organizations are interrelated, influence personal behaviour,  how they affect or are affected by the larger society, reasons for changes in social groups and organizations.

Society – a large social group that shares the same geographical territory, and is subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations.

A society has a feeling of unity, regards itself as a distinguished entity, has a structure of interrelated roles, it recruits its members partly by biological reproduction within the group and it has means to survive for a long period of time.

     

       DEFINITIONS:

Auguste Comte “ The science of social phenomena ‘subject to natural and invariable laws, the discovery of which is the object of investigation’”

Emile Durkheim “ The ‘Science of social institutions’”

Henry Fairchild “The study of man and his human environment in their relations to each other.”

Moris Ginsberg “ In the broadest sense, sociology is the study of human interactions and inter-relations, their conditions and consequences.”

The above definitions shows the divergent views of sociologists on the definition/meaning of sociology. However, they all reveal the fact that sociology is concerned with Man, his social relations and society.

        HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIOLOGY:

Sociology as a distinct body of knowledge with its own subject matter, name, scope and methods is of recent origin. It was Auguste Comte(1798 – 1857), a French Philosopher, who first expressed the need to have a science of society in order to develop it and counteract social evils. In 1839 in his renowned work Positive Philosophy he coined the word sociology which he had first called social Physics to represent a science of society. So, sociology was born in 19^th century and Auguste comte is its ‘father’.

The Greeks: Although sociology is a very recent science, the observation of human behaviour and interaction is an age-long fact found in all socities of the world. However, such observations were more speculative in nature than scientific.

The Systematic  analysis/thought of social life in western societies is found in the philosophies of early Greek thinkers such as Plato( 427 – 347 B.C) who in his work the Republic gave an analysis of the city community and Aristotle (384 – 322 B.C)/also called the ‘father of Political Science’ in his works Ethics and Politics gave an analysis of the law, society and the state.

However, these thinkers were concerned with how the society ought to be(depiction of ideal social order), and did not deal with explanations on how the society actually was (the causes of social problems).Furthermore, their view of society was directly linked with the state.

The Romans: The Roman thinker Cicero in his book De Officus ( on Justice) transmitted Greek philosophy to the west. But Roman thinkers were more interested on the issues of law than analysis of social life.

The Scholastic: This is the period when thinkers were occupied with theological issues. The emphasis was on the creation of man by God. Man has to respect and follow only God’s laws which are accurately interpreted by church authorities. Anyone in the society arguing against such a dogma was considered a heretic. Scholastic philosophy maintained that nothing social can be changed.

Modernists: From the 16^th century writers like Machiavelli in his work ‘the Prince’ gave clear distinction between the  state and society and wrote widely on principles for a successful state. Also Sir Thomas More in his ‘Utopia’ started addressing social problems.

Social change was given impetus and underwent a rapid change in the Renaissance ( 1350 -1600 B.C; period in 14th,15th 16thC when people in Europe were interested in the Roman and Greek ideas and culture)  and Enlightment Periods (17^th and 18th Centuries). The intellectual and political atmosphere(especially the twin revolutions in Europe) facilitated the development of social sciences.

Sociological thinking as viewed today can be traced in these periods. These periods were characterized by emphasis on individual reasoning, experience, criticism to the supremacy of religion as the source of knowledge and opposition to traditional authority.

The twin revolutions that occurred in these periods: The French Revolution(1789 - 1799 ) and the Industrial Revolution (1760 and 1850) brought out interesting ideologies such as individualism, socialism, utilitarianism, utopianism, which played an important role for the emergence and growth of sociology.

The industrial Revolution in particular brought massive economic, technological and social changes. New social classes emerged: the industrialists and workers; there were influx of people in cities because of rural-urban migration.

Moreover, Urbanization and industrialization created new social problems: housing, overcrowding, sanitary problems, poverty, pollusion, child labour, insecurity and crime.

The rise of such social problems facilitated the rise of new social thinkers who focused their attention on the changing society and the way to deal with its problems.

Thinkers in this time were inspired and influenced by the discoveries of the time: discoveries such as  Isaac Newton’s (1642-1727)  law of gravity and motions, development of calculus, etc., motivated social thinkers to work hard in the social field with the expectations of achieving similar results in the study of human behaviour. They started applying methods developed by natural scientists to discover the laws of human behaviour and apply these laws to solve social problems.

Early social thinkers such as Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim started analysing the social order for the purpose of establish stability in the society. Their contributions are valuable to sociology even today. Auguste Comte, in particular, coined the word ‘sociology’ to denote a distinct science of society. For him all aspects of social life are bound in a unity which has an evolutionary character. Man grows in 3 stages of development: theological, metaphysical and scientific.

Spencer, attracted by Dwarn’s theory of survival for the fittest(simple, survival, fittest) treated the society as a natural phenomenon. One of his theories is that social phenomena undergo organic evolutionary process from the simple, homogeneous to the complex and heterogenous.

Thus man has evolved from the primitive man. His theory was later integrated in psychology- evolution of society is dependent on evolution of human mind.

Durkheim, another French philosopher, emphasized on the reality of society. Sociology is based on social facts. He contributed much in industrial management.

Apart from French and English Philosophers of the 19^th century, there was a batch of German Philosophers whose contribution to sociology cannot be ignored. These are: Simmel, Max Weber, Karl Marx  and Talcott Parsons. Max Weber’s contribution to sociology are seen from him theory of Social action, Authority, Bureaucracy and ideal type.

Karl Marx, on the other hand, in his ‘communist Manifesto’ has contributed to sociology issues such as historical materialism, theory of private property, class struggle, and stateless society. Talcott Parsons has contributed his action frame of reference and the structural functional analysis.

The important ideologies of 18^th which played great role in the rise of sociology and growth of other social sciences are:

Positivism – an era where scientific methods were the measuring rods of almost everything. Auguste Comte used this philosphy to refer to the idea of scientific treatment of social behaviour. For him sociology will do for a social man what biology exactly does to the biological man.

Humanitarianism – Commitment to man’s or societal welfare. It insisted for efforts to improve the conditions for the poor and needy.

Evolutionism – development of human society was viewed in terms of social evolution. It was thought that the idea of evolution would hast the development of society as it had done in biology.

Major factors which contributed to the rise of sociology:

Industrial Revolution and industrialization

Inspiration from the growth of Natural Sciences in 19^th C

Inspiration from diverse societies –  exposure to other cultures and challenges to social scientists.

Sociology as compared to other  social science is of recent origin, born only in 19^th C.

However, the efforts of people like Comte to make Sociology replace other social sciences ended up making sociology one of the social sciences.

        IMPORTANCE OF SOCIOLOGY

After a study of important concepts used in sociology, it is now an opportune time to ask ourselves of the value or purpose of sociology in our lives:

1.       Scientific study of society: Sociology undertakes a scientific knowledge or study of the society. This is a remarkable milestone in the history as prior to the emergence of sociology society was studied in an unscientific manner. It also reflects upon many of the problems of the present world.

2.       Studies the role of the institutions in the development of the individual: In sociology the social institutions through which the society functions are studied. This study enables one to know the functions and the relationship which exists between these institutions and the individual, and also what suitable measure can be taken to strengthen them in order to enable these institutions to serve the individual better. These institutions include: the family, school, education, the church, the religion, the state, the government, the industry, work, the community, association.

3.       Understanding of social problems and making of future plans of the society: Knowledge obtained through sociology is necessary for understanding of social problems and for the plans of its solutions. Unless the parts are known it is difficult to know the whole. Sociology is also necessary for effective planning and implementation of social policies.

4.       Solution of social Problems: The present social problems in the world can be solved through the scientific study of the society. Therefore, it is the obligation of sociology to study these problems through scientific research and to find solutions for them.

5.       Knowledge of other cultures: Sociology has brought to us an insight and appreciation of the culture and conditions in which others exist.

6.       Solution of international problems: Conflicts and war between nations of the world signifies the functional disequilibrium of the political organizations of the state. The study of the sociology of war will help in understanding the underlying causes of war and remove all such causes which promote tensions between nations and ultimately lead to war.

7.       Sociology is a profession: The students of sociology can get employed in fields such as government or industrial labour welfare officers, human relations officers, personnel officers, social security schemes, probation officers, reformatory school teachers, superintendants of juvenile homes, rural welfare officers, social education officers, superintendents of welfare/old age homes, social workers, social researchers, etc.

Important sociological concepts:

1.       Positivism: Positivism is a philosophy which holds that knowledge can be derived only from sensual experiences or empirical evidences. The methods of the physical sciences are highly regarded as the only accurate means of obtaining knowledge, and therefore, the social sciences should be limited to the use of these methods and modeled after the physical sciences. Anything true must be verified through sensory experience. Therefore, metaphysical speculations, purely logical analysis, theological speculations, His stand that societies should be studied scientifically is the basis of social research. Comte is the founder of this belief.

This belief has dominated the sociological research, investigators apply scientific methods mentioned by Comte: observation, experimentation, and comparison. Social actions are governed by laws and principles. Comte termed modern scientific knowledge as the ‘religion of humanity’ and the scientists are the  priests of this positive religion. He called himself the High Priest of this religion.Thus he considered himself a prophet and founder of a new positive religion that brings salvation to all ailment of humankind.

2.       Utilitarianism: Belief that human actions are justified as long as they have benefits to a majority of people. The word was coined by Bethan Jeremy, an English philosopher(1748-1832)

3.       Collectivism: Subjugation of an individual to a group – class, caste, race, etc. It also refers to a political system in which all forms of business and industries are owned by the government or by all the people.

4.       Evolutionism: Development of society from simple to complex stages of development.

5.       Humanitarianism: An act of kindness or benevolence extended universally and impartially to all human beings. It refers to effects made by government and organizations to alleviate poverty and suffering after the occurance of major natural or man made catastrophes.

6.       Darwinism: an ideology  which insists on the importance of survival. There are people who will survive because they are able and there are others who cannot survive.

7.       Confucianism: derived from philosopher Conficius who established a school known as JU. Everyone  should

have according to the status of his or her name.

                                         source Mr Octavian Mahamba.

3.0  NATURE OF SOCIOLOGY; IS SOCIOLOGY A SCIENCE?

3.1: WHAT IS A SCIENCE?

The word ‘science’ is the derivative of the Latin word ‘Scire’ which means  “to Know”. Therefore, science is a way of knowing. It is a systematic body of knowledge. It is a system that is well arranged for the acquisition of knowledge.

Classification of science:

Physical Science: - kind of knowledge which deals with nature and the natural world. It studies the naturally occurring phenomena and how they relate to each other. It includes sciences such as Physics, Mathematics, chemistry, Geology, Geography, Astronomy, botany, zoology. Each of these sciences specializes on one of the different aspects of the natural world. Knowledge of these sciences is acquired through scientific methods and experiments. Its methods are verifiable and objective.

Social Science: - It is the body of knowledge which is concerned with the society and the social world. It studies the socially constructed phenomena and how they relate (interact) to each other. It also studies the structure of the society and the activities of its members. It includes sciences such as Anthropology, economics, communication, Psychology, History, Political science, and sociology.

Contrary to Physical sciences, social sciences apply methods which are less exact and sometimes difficult to verify. This is because social sciences deal with man who is a complex animal and has an ever-changing behaviour – which makes the objectivity of this science objectionable.

Therefore, Sociology is one of the social sciences which is explicitly concerned with activities of man and society. That is, its origin, structure, functions, development and problems of the society – poverty, beggary, population, crime, unemployment, etc.

      3.2 THE STANDARDS OF SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY.

Objectivity:

Objectivity refers to the absence or exclusion of the influence of personal biases and values on the data/ reports or interpretation of results in a research study of any phenomenon. Personal creed (beliefs), political affiliations, racial relationships, status considerations, personal behavior/perceptions, gender biases, etc., of the investigator should not determine the findings of any study.

Replication:

Research or study should be conducted in such a way that other people with different biases and influences can replicate or study it again to bring out identical results to those of the original study.

Precision of measurements:

Phenomenon being studied should be measured precisely, with reliable measures and in valid ways. Accurate measurement is an important determinant of the standards of scientific theory

Note: In sociology absolute objectivity is impossible because the investigator himself is a product of the society with biases and influences. However, there are ways of minimizing the levels of subjectivity: by making the investigator recognize and eliminate his limitations(exercise self-control), base the study on a particular theory, or replicate the study.

Equally true is the fact that it is often impossible to duplicate studies in sociology because of the nature of the problems studied. How can one, fore instance, replicate the earthquake or the hollows of Rwandan genocide?

Of extreme difficult in sociology is the precise measurement of phenomena under study. Since sociology is a relative abstract subject, its abstract terms are difficult to measure. Sociologists use operationalization procedure to try to measure their concepts. That is, they select quantitative indicators of an abstract concept, determine what will be observed and how it will be measured.

3.3 UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF SOCIOLOGY

As a branch of knowledge, sociology has its unique characteristics which distinguishes it from other sciences:

It is an independent Science:

It has its own field of study, boundary and methods.

It is a social science and not a physical science

It is one of the members of the family of social sciences. It concentrates on man, his activities, behavior and life. It is also related with other social sciences.

It is a categorical and not a Normative discipline.

It deals with statements of what is and not what should be/ought to be. It does not pass value-judgments on issues; it is neither moral nor immoral but amoral (it is completely silent on the question of value).

It is a pure and not applied Science.

A pure science deals with acquisition of knowledge regardless whether that knowledge is useful or not. On the contrary, applied science aims at applying the acquired knowledge into life and use. However, sociology has its applied fields such as administration, diplomacy, social work, etc.

It is relatively an abstract science and not a concrete science.

Sociology is not concerned with concrete manifestations of human events. It is more concerned with the form of human events and their patterns. For example, sociology is not interested with particular wars, but is much interested in wars as type of social phenomena or social conflict. Similarly, sociology is not confined to the study of a particular group of society.

It is a generalizing and not a particularizing/individualizing science.

Sociology deals with the generation of general laws or principles about human interaction and associations, about the nature, form, content and structure of human groups or societies. It does not involve itself in studying each and every event taking place in society. Therefore, it only makes generalization by studying a few sampling events.

It is a general science and not a special social science

Sociology is concerned with human interaction and human life in general terms. It differs with other social sciences such as history, economics, political sciences which also study man and human interaction, but focus their attention only on certain aspects of human interaction and specializes on those areas/aspects.

It is both rational and empirical science

Empirical sciences emphasizes on experience and the facts that result from observation and experimentation. On the other hand, rational science stresses on reason and the theories that result from logical inferences. Empiricism and Rationalism are important approaches to any scientific knowledge. Sociology employs both empirical and rational investigations in its inquiries; and considers both to be significant.

Sociometry: It is the study of the inner structures of social groups and social relations. It is related to ideas of primary groups (Cooley).The components of the groups are studied as they are related to the group and the group as relates to the parts. Focuses o relations between individuals and this can even be expressed in graphic forms.

Sociometry concentrates on measurement. But what is measured is not social phenomena in general but rather interpersonal relations based on attraction and repulsion. Therefore, Sociometry is a method about the informal structure of human societies and groups. This method was propounded by Romanian thinker, Moreno.

Basic proposition of this theory is based on the fact that human beings form a network of intermental relations. Society can survive for long periods of time because of the existing possibilities of making choices by people (attraction and repulsions).These choices are measured by a point called ‘tele’. Tests of Sociometry produce diagrams called sociograms – a group map which indicates positive and negative choices of group members

Micro sociology – the study of small groups as compared to large or collective groups. Methods of Sociometry are found in the study of micro sociology.

             

                                                       source Mr Octavian Mahamba

SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION

4.0 SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION

Sociological imagination is a type of reasoning which establishes interrelationship/link between personal trouble and Public trouble. It is a way of viewing personal difficulties as partly being caused by the society’s structure.

To put it in more technical terms, it is a process of linking personal experiences with social institutions and one’s life history. In this process an individual relates impersonal and remote historical forces with the events of an individual’s life. In sociological imagination people look at their problems as social issues and try to link those problems/experiences with the working of the society. In other words, it a perspective which links personal circumstances (poverty, divorce, unemployment) to the possible social forces that can be said to be relevant for the causes for such conditions.

Individual personal difficulties overlap with public issues. Therefore, the causes and solutions of personal problems should not be left with individuals concerned alone but rather focus on the economic and political institutions for definition of such problems; for understanding its causes, and for a range of possible solutions.

Personal trouble: is a private problem affecting an individual and the people with whom he associates regularly/his or her immediate associates. The problem usually arises from the person’s traits or characteristics such as mood, personal character, or ability. Personal problems are usually solved by the individual himself by changing his character or changing his immediate relationship.

Social/Public issue: Problem or set of problems that affect a majority of people and whose causes are beyond individual person’s control because they stem from the crises in the larger social system. The solutions of public issues are obtained at the societal level.

A good example of sociological imagination is unemployment. If for example, one person is unemployed, the reasons for his unemployment can be attributed to his personal problems such as lack of skills, failure in college, etc. But suppose in a country of thirty million people, ten million are not employed.

The reasons cannot be attributed to those individuals alone but to the government as well. Maybe the government structure or policy is inhibiting them from being employed. The problem will become a public issue and will lead to policy issues designed to relieve private problems.

Other such problems include underemployment, cultural misunderstanding,  immigration, information explosion,  AIDS,  crime,  illegal drug abuse,  gender inequality,  family breakdown.

The primary aim of sociological imagination is to help an individual/people to develop the ability to participate in the events of social life and at the same time be keen enough to analyze broader meanings of what is taking place in the society or the world at large.

The term “Sociological imagination” was coined by an American Sociologist   Wright C. Mills in 1959.

Background of Mills:

Wright Charles Mills (1916-1962) was born on 28 August 1916 in Waco, Texas. His father was an insurance broker and his mother was a housewife; they were of Irish-English origin. Mills lived a relatively isolated life because of the nature of his family – frequent change of residence and his father was a man of trips; he seldom stayed at home.

He studied at Dallas Technical High School with the intention of becoming an engineer. After his graduation he entered Texas Agricultural & Mechanical College, military school in Texas. As a freshman, he published a letter to the student’s news paper, the Batallion, protested against the harassment the freshmen were receiving from their juniors, the upperclassmen.

 In 1935 he joined the University of Texas at Austin. Here Mills studied philosophy, sociology, cultural anthropology, social psychology and economics. While still an undergraduate student he was nominated to become a tutorial assistant of professor George Gentry in sociology.

In October, 1937, he married Dorothy Smith (Freya), a bright and personable young woman who was a member of  Young Men's and Women's Christian Association, an organization which advocated  social change like the education of Negro sharecroppers. They had one daughter, Pamela. Later, Mills became interested in sociological theory (he was influenced by the ideas of Marx), urban sociology, social psychology, economics and empirical research. He received his B.A in sociology and M.A in philosophy in 1939.

Thereafter, Mills joined the University of Wisconsin for his doctorate in sociology. He started writing articles in sociological journals. He completed his studies in 1914 and was appointed associate professor at the University of Maryland.

In 1947, he divorced Dorothy. He married Ruth, they had a daughter Kathryn in 1955. But Mills and Ruth divorsed in 1959. In the same year  Mills married Yaroslava Surmach, and in 1960 their son Nikolas was born.

During  this time Mills devoted his time to writing:

1.      New Men of Power (1948),

2.      White Collar (1951),

3.      The Power Elite (1956),

4.      The Causes of World War Three ( 1958),

5.      The Sociological Imagination ( 1959),

6.      Listen Yankee ( 1960).

Mills died of a heart attack on 20 March 1962.

“The Sociological Imagination” was his most influential book, especially in analyzing the social structure. It was in this book that Mills explained his pragmatic (solve issues practically) and sociological roots providing the techniques required for fulfilling what he called "the promise of sociology.“

“The sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society. . .they are the questions inevitably raised by any mind possessing the sociological imagination. For that imagination is the capacity to shift from one perspective to another--from the political to the psychological; from examination of a single family to comparative assessment of the national budgets of the world; from the theological school to the military establishment; from considerations of an oil industry to studies of contemporary poetry. It is the capacity to range from the most impersonal and remote transformations to the most intimate features of the human self--and to see the relations between the two. Back of its use there is always the urge to know the social and historical meaning of the individual in the society and in the period in which he has his quality and his being (1959: 6-7).”

Mills suggests the use of imagination as important technique of  societal analysis. Through sociological imagination one is immersed in a deep commitment to one's problem, the definition of that problem(s) using abstract concepts so as to invoke links between personal difficulties and the society at large.

Mills was interested in the way personal problems are transformed into social issues. That is, how and when individuals define their troubles as due to larger forces beyond their own personal mistakes. According to Mills the key element of the sociological imagination is an ability to make a distinction between troubles and issues.

Mills' sociological imagination is centred on three aspects

1.      Structure of a particular society:  its difference from other types of social order; its essential components, and the meaning of its feature and  its process of change.

2.      The position of this society in history. That is, mechanisms of its forces of change, how it is affected by the historical period in which it moves.

3.      The relation of gender in this society.

Mills argued that people feel that their private lives are “traped” because they cannot understand the greater sociological patterns affecting their personal troubles. Unemployment, war, and marriage are types of private trouble whose causes have a societal dimension.

 Another example of the "sociological imagination" used by Mills himself and still present today is one's reaction to being unemployed. An individual may attribute his/her inability to find a job to his personal characteristics rather than the larger social forces at work such as the economy and job market. According to Mills Individuals who feel this way are "trapped" due to their narrowed vision of the problem of unemployment.

To solve this problem or feeling of being trapped, Mills suggested that people should engage in the process of trying to understand the interaction between individual lives and society.  Hence, he insisted: "neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both“.

This understanding is what is called Sociological Imagination - that is, the 'quality of mind' which enables one to grasp "history and biography and the relations between the two within society".

Mills believed that "ordinary people do not possess the quality of mind essential to grasp the interplay of man and society, of biography and history, of self and world.”  Is this true?

It is commonly believed that Sociological imagination is much more needed today that it was even needed at the time of Mills. Hence the slogan  “Mills was a Moses who took social scientists to the promised land yet was unable to enter it himself.”

What are issues in our Tanzanian society lie between private trouble and public issues? Can we list them?

What is the attitude and ability of our people towards such problems: are they interested or concerned about them, do they possess a ‘quality of mind’ that Mills talks about  in order to address them? 

Is our people more focused on private issues and less on the social reality which creates them? Why?

How do we regard or view the disadvantaged or marginalized members of our society including, the poor, women, physically challenged (including Albino), mentally ill, etc.

What is the cause of their problems – God, ourselves, social inequalities, themselves? What shall we do to remove the reasons for their oppression– leave as it is, create social consciousness, become activists, change the government? How?

Mills’ insights on sociological imagination were expanded by other sociologists and created two important terminologies: Microsociology and Macrosociology.

Microsociology: It is an observation of behavior at the micro or small level when people are engaged in interaction in everyday life. It studies the smallest social units – Individuals, their thoughts and actions.

Macrosociology: It is a branch of sociology that studies the  broad social groups and organization including the state, social class, the economy, family, culture, and society.

Significance of sociological imagination:

1.      Sociological imagination empowers us to see how our opportunities, are shaped by the way in which behaviour is organized in society. Helps us to know that human dignity, pleasure, love, self-sacrifice, efforts are unlimited.

Those who possess this quality of mind (knowledge) will understand the forces shaping their lives as well as those of others. People shape society and society shapes them. They get the ability to distinguish between personal problem and public issue. For example, people living in poverty are enabled to understand that they are not alone, and should not blame themselves but criticize the social forces that have created their present conditions.

2.      Sociological imagination increases our chances to respond well/ appropriately to our opportunities and this depends on two factors: social relativity and transformative powers of history.

Social relativity: the view that ideas, beliefs, and behavior vary according to time and place. Many of our ideas and behavior do not originate from one individual but are products of the environment into which we were born. It helps us to see things can be otherwise/changed.

Transformative powers of history: the concept that most significant historical events have dramatic consequences on people’s opportunities and that see events in the context of time and place. Sociological imagination helps us to see that even personal experiences are shaped by time and place and by the transformative powers of history.

The concept of Global interdependence:

Closely associated with sociological imagination is the idea of Global interdependence: the state in which the lives of the people around the world are closely related in such a way that one country’s problems becomes part of a larger global situation/issue. Eg. Medical technology, Humanitarian assistance, Internet, Production process – Tvs, vehicles, raw materials.

What are current Global interdependence issues?

What type of responses is given?

Are they adequate?

Is Global interdependence selective?

How do third world countries respond to problems of developed countries?

What international agencies are directly linked with Global interdependence issues?

GLOBALIZATION:

Refers to the process of increasing the connectivity and interdependence of groups, institutions, organizations and nations of the world. People, groups, organizations and nations of the world are interdependent in economic, political, cultural, social perspectives. However, the word is often used to refer to economic phenomenon of the world (role of transnational corporations, global financial markets, world trade, etc.) It refers to the efforts of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and others to create a global free market for goods and services.

Factors /Driving forces contributing to Globalization:

Information and communication technology:

The contemporary world, especially the post world war II era, has witnessed the boom of transformation in communication technology. Eg. Replacement of analogue signals (through wires) by integrated systems which are less expensive. Introduction of Fibre-optical cables has accelerated the transmission of many channels at one time.

Secondly, communication in satellites has expanded international communication. Mobile phones and the internet, the global media have facilitated the flow of information.

Countries developed in these areas give its citizens a chance for global exposure at home, in the offices, school, etc.

Economic factors:

Globalization is facilitated by the integration of the world economy. The internet services have increased the transactions and exchange of economic services. Transnational corporations (companies that produce and market goods and services in more than one country eg. Coca-cola, Colgate, Palmolive, Kodak, Mitsubishi, Toyota, etc) are now spread all over the world.

Political changes:

The collapse of the Soviet Union communism led countries in the former Soiviet Union- eg. Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Hungury, Czech Republic to adopt Western style of economic and political systems. They are now part of the global community.

This ended the cold war where the countries of the first world stood aloof of countries of the sencond and third world.

Growth of Regional and international mechanism of government has also facilitated the process of globalization. International organizations such as the United Nations, European Union, African union bring national states together to discuss political issues.

Global civil societies such as Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) eg. Civil aviation, and International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) which work alongside governments in policy making and promote issues to international level eg. Green Peace, Amnesty International

GLOBAL DEBATE:

Globalization is  real. But its role is a subject of global debate. David Held(1999) conducted a survey on this controversy and discovered three schools of thought:

Skeptic school: For them globalization is not something new in the world (eg. Economic interdependence is not unprecedented). They quote the 19^th c statistics on world trade and investments. They argue that the only difference is modern intensity of interaction between nations.

For them the current world economy does not guarantee globalization because of economic trading blocks and tariffs. There is discrimination – countries of EU trade predominantly among themselves. And the same is true of countries of other regions of the world. There is, above all, increased marginalization of the South.

The Hyperglobalizers School: Globalization is real producing new global order by cross-border trade and production leading to borderless world in which market forces are more powerful than governments.

Therefore, individual countries no longer control their economies. Therefore there are: global capitalism, global governance, global civil societies.

Transformationalists: The world is being transformed, yet, but it still retains many of its old patterns eg. Governments still retain sovereignty and power in spite of global interdependence.

Global migration, information and influence contribute to diffusion of cultural influences – many cities now are multicultural.

Countries are restructuring for new forms of economic and social organizations that are non-territorial in biases.

Of the three, transformationists are near to the truth/correct. Skeptics underestimates world changes, hyperglobalizers overestimates global economic process. However, globalization is a challenging complex process.

Impact of globalization:

Individualism: Formerly, family, traditions and customs exercised strong influence on the lives of individuals. But under the conditions of globalization we are faced with individualism – people construct their own identities. Traditions and customs are pushed far by new global order.

Increased opportunities and Competitions: There are two schools of thought who are antagonistic on the issue of the role and effects of globalization: The pro-globalization and the Anti-globalization.

The former argue that globalization has brought opportunities for every individual in the world. Forexample, opportunities brought by Globalization to developing countries include: Greater access to developed country markets and technology, which leads to  improved productivity and higher living standard. Competition is natural in globalization in order to increase performance and efficiency. There are two major international organization which propagate this view: The World Trade Organization(WTO) and The World Economic Forum (WEF). The former is a pan-government entity consisting of 144 members formed to set rules of business to govern trade and capital flow in member states. WEF is a private foundation set as a networking forum for world business houses as well as for governments and non-profiting organizations.

The Anti-globalizes on the other hand argue that globalization is depriving the opportunities of poor people and weak business houses and organizations of the world to benefit from the world resources. Such people and companies have no capacity to compete with the more advanced countries and companies. Connecting them to the world is condemning them to death. A great majority of these developing countries remain removed from the process.

The increased economic interconnection has brought deep-seated political changes - poorer, 'peripheral', countries have become even more dependent on activities in 'central' economies such as the USA where capital and technical expertise tend to be located.

 There has also been a shift in power away from the nation state and toward multinational corporations. We also now witness the rise and globalization of the 'brand'. It isn't just that large corporations operate across many different countries - they have also developed and marketed their products. Brands like Coca Cola, Nike, Sony, and a host of others have become part of the fabric of vast numbers of people's lives, worldwide.

Besides, Globalization has brought many other challenges like growing inequality across and within nations, volatility in financial market and environmental deteriorations.

Anti-globalization organizations include: Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Oxfarm, Countries of G77,

De-localization. Globalization has direct impact to individuals. Many of the activities that were performed by individuals previously involved face-to-face interaction,  are now conducted across great distances. There has been a significant de-localization in social and economic exchanges. A good example is Banking and retailing. These have adopted new technologies that involve people in less face-to-face interaction. Your contact at the bank is in a call centre many miles away; and when you buy goods on the internet the only person you might come into contact is, may be, the delivery driver. It is strange that even the computers taking our orders can be on a different continent; and the books can be located anywhere in the world.

The Shrinking power of national governments. The pinch of globalization is felt not only by individuals but also by national states. The major impact on these is the decline in the power of national governments to direct and influence their economies, economically, socially, culturally and politically. Shifts in economic activity in developed countries are felt in countries all over the globe regardless whether they are rich or poor. The emergence of institutions such as the World Bank, the European Union and the European Central Bank, involve new constraints and imperatives that can threaten the functioning of any government.

The most interesting part is the way globalization is shaping politics and policy formulation in the countries of the globe. Politics and policies are framed to adjust to the market forces and to favor the activities of rich nations of the world. Environments have been created to protect their properties and the International Criminal Court (ICC) is set to punish the transgressors.(eg. Kenya, Sudan, Iraq).

                                                  source; Mr Octavian Mahamba