The first thing to note when reading 'The Sociological Imagination' (first published in 1959) is that when C. Write Mills refers to "man" /"men" refers in fact to the entire population and not specifically to the male gender. This is typical of the writing of this period, however in modern society it is often seen as obsolete or incorrect. The use of sociological imagination allows people to change one's view of society. It allows people to think differently and highlights the importance of social science. Mills begins by outlining the situation of people in the 1950s, stating that people are not exclusively in control of their own lives. He believes that events that happen in life are a product of people's social environment. An example of this would be unemployment, as people often become unemployed in a time of economic difficulty. This is therefore not the fault of the individual but rather of the struggling society. This therefore means that a person's individual life is influenced by society and the changes it goes through. To understand changes in someone's life we ​​must first look at society and its infrastructure and evaluate the impact these have. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The three main questions to ask yourself when using this method are; what the structure of this society is, where it fits into human history, and what kind of people are the most powerful. Write highlights two main characteristics that need to be examined if one wants to fully understand the company effectively. The first stage of the sociological imagination is understanding one's place in society and understanding the common social interactions/struggles of others in the same position. Only then will people be able to truly understand what their chances are in life. Mills points out that no matter how seemingly insignificant a person may be, everyone has an impact on society. This proves once again that events that occur in someone's life are influenced by those around them. To understand the impact of biography there are three key areas to investigate. These are; the types of men and women in society (this can be done by examining aspects such as gender, social class and religion), how these groups are formed and what types of people are dominant in these groups/society as a whole. Mills however also states that there is a difference between personal issues and public issues, however both should be combined and investigated. One of the key points Mills makes is the impact and influence of history on modern society. Explain that to fully understand society you need to look at both the individuals who make up the society and the history of that society. However, the ordinary person often fails to see the extent of history's influence. To fully understand this, we must look at the key features of our era and be able to make a connection between this and the key feature of history. When trying to understand the impact of history on society there are three questions to ask; what is the history of this society, how it became such and how our society has been shaped through the changes of history. This will help you identify the current society's place in history.