social imagination

Open Ended

Step 1 - Description

What is this object?

describe it in detail

What do you call it?

How is it referenced?

Open Ended

Step 2 - Local Analysis

How does this relate to other parts of social life?

How it is used?

How is it bought and sold?

Who buys and sells it?

Who benefits from it?

How does it directly relate to your life?

Open Ended

Step 3 - Global Analysis

Does this exist in other countries?

In what form does it exist?

Does this affect life on this planet? if so, how?

Where and how is it made?

Open Ended

Step 4 - Historical Analysis

When did this come into existence?

Why did it appear at this time?

How has this changed over time?

How have other parts of life changed as a result of this object?

What might it look like in the future?

Will it still exist in the future?

Based on C. Wright Mills' ideas, the social imagination encourages us to recognize the intersection between personal biography and history. According to Mills, people need to understand that their behaviors do not occur in a vacuum; rather these values and behaviors are situated and consequently influenced by their particular time and place.

Social imagination