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Neumann Applying the Sociological Imagination Assignment Sociological Imagination Is to think yourself away from the familiar routines of everyday life, and look at them from an entirely new perspective. Looking outside the box. Someone with a sociological imagination might view a homeless person as a person who has had hard times. They might ask questions as to what brought them to homelessness. Did they lose their Job? Did they abuse drugs or alcohol? What are the circumstances that brought them to be homeless.
Someone who does not have a sociological imagination would not be able to see outside of their “norm” and would more than likely make statements to the effect of get a Job, is their choice to be in the situation they are. They would have no empathy for someone who Is homeless or want to know the circumstances that brought someone to become homeless. I feel like a legislator that has sociological Imagination would propose policies the help combat homelessness. Research or have people research what are the leading causing of homelessness and try to make polices that would help minimize homelessness.
For example, if you look at a single mom who is struggling to work, pay bills, pay daycare so she can work and maintain rent or a mortgage, a legislator that looks outside the box would look into policies that would help the single mom maybe in creating a policy where the income guideline to get daycare assistance goes up so that she could get daycare assistance or look into policies to help with more energy assistance which would help her with the cost of utilities. Also they would look into ways to create more affordable housing as this county Is In desperate need of affordable housing.
A legislator who does not have a sociological imagination or chooses to not look outside the box would not look at ways to help create polices to help the single mom be able to maintain her household. They would look Into polices to develop housing and not necessarily affordable housing. They may look into commercial developments or look at ways to cut funding for policies and programs that help people be able to maintain housing. Such as the Housing Choice Voucher program. The advantages to have a sociological imagination are to be able to look at a taxation in a different view.
To be able to be open to various other ideas and theories. To do the research in the theories you may have and be open to different results. The disadvantages is living life for what is presented to you. Not being able to look at different situations such as homelessness for what might have caused it, whether It be something In there personal lives or something bigger as a mass layoff and could no longer pay their rent or mortgage. A person without a sociological imagination may not be able to look past what Is really going on In the world and may
Just feel stuck In their own situations. Structures that contribute to homelessness are poverty, lack of employment, lack of affordable housing. And the housing crash in programs and raising the minimum wage so that people could afford to pay the rents and still be able to feed themselves. A micro solution to homelessness could be programs to help people who are homeless and have addiction problems get the help they need to get clean to be able to get a Job, keep a Job and become productive member in society.