Sample instructions and assessment rubric for an essay on C. Wright Mills' concept of the sociological imagination. Students are challenged to apply the sociological imagination to an element from their own biography. I use this in my Introduction to Sociology course in Canada.
This lesson plan outlines a set of interactive exercises designed for one 50 minute tutorial in a first year introductory sociology course. Students are introduced to Mills’ The Sociological Imagination (1959) and participate in a close reading activity. The class then applies the sociological imagination to research reports on urban loneliness to explore how this seemingly private trouble is also a public issue with social roots and social outcomes. The lesson plan includes activity steps and timing, background information, and handouts and is ideal for a teaching assistant or first time instructor. This lesson plan has also been published in the ASA Teaching Resources and Innovations Library for Sociology.