Definition of Major Concepts: Sociological Imagination, Reformation and Industrial Revolution

Sociological Imagination

Sociological imagination is the vibrant consciousness of connection between experience and wider society. It denotes one’s ability to observe how sociological conditions emerge according to people’s uniqueness in terms of places in given social and historical circumstances (Mills 2000). People with high sociological imagination are agile in shifting from one perspective to another, for instance, from political to psychological, from examination of a single family to relative appraisal of the national budget of the world, among others.

The society’s way of thinking is what determines the result and its causative factors. Different results can be shaped by such factors as social norms, people’s motives, the social framework, time and company of different people. In fact, ‘social imagination’ is simply the ability to assess things socially and how they interrelate and influence each other.

Besides, for one to have a sociological imagination, he or she needs to disengage himself or herself from the prevailing situation and to be able to reason from the alternative point of view. This entails dissociating thoughts about oneself from the daily routine and looking at them afresh and in a wider context, because following the normal routine may impede the process of comprehensive learning.

 

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In addition to that, sociological imagination involves an understanding that social outcomes are formed by social environment, performers, traditions, history and communal behavior. It also includes appreciation of interconnections that inform the foundation of human societies. This means that people’s actions are determined by situations they are in, their values, their peers and the relationship between these actions and the prospective results.

Finally, the sociological imagination can also be well thought-out, as the capacity to evaluate things interactively, linking individuals and communities, rather than from the narrow lens of personal understanding. An example of sociological imagination is the advantage of using popular films to foster learners’ comprehension of topics in question. For instance, those who teach courses in social problems, especially about war, help learners to adapt to global point of view and to objectively tackle issues of race relations. 

This teaching approach equips students with case studies for hands-on observation experiences, since films are viewed as historical documentation of changes in cultural ideas, materials and institutions (Mills 2000). They demonstrate the significance of sociological imagination in enabling people to make sense of their world.

Reformation

Reformation refers to a religious movement that started as an effort to transform the Roman Catholic Church, instead ended up in founding protestant churches fully detach from it. This took place in the sixteenth century, engineered by reformists in the church such as Martin Luther, John Calvin and John Knox, who challenged the Roman Church on the subject of indulgences (Bagchi & Steinmetz 2004). It was established in England after the then King Henry VIII imposed himself as head of Christian church. 

The event that was instigated in 1517 as a revival of the biblical and New Testament theology was the greatest religious movement for Christ since the early church, which brought to an end the middle ages and ushered in the modern times (Bagchi & Steinmetz 2004). Beginning from religion, Reformation gave a great urge to every progression. This made Protestantism the principal propelling force in the history of modern civilization. 

The cause of Reformation is associated with many unsuccessful attempts to reform the Catholic Church before the sixteenth century. The bone of contention being papacy, auricular confession, purgatory, pilgrimages, worship of saints and relics, among others. In the 16th century, reformation was the idea whose time had come, as the church had been prepared for it in various ways. 

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First, the stage was set forth for reformation by the perennial political, economic and religious factors. The looming corruption in the institution of papacy, the declination of monasticism and scholastic theology, the revival of the Greek and Roman classics, invention of the printing press were among the contentious issues that formed the basis for the agitation of Reformation.

Alongside that, there was renaissance, a secular movement that challenged people to explore their minds to generate decisions based on rational judgment. This brought about humanism, as reformation brought about true Christianity. This scenario made reformation look more less the same as Protestant Revolution, since it was politically and economically motivated. This was necessary, given the fact that the Roman Church had controlled nearly everything holding every other element of the society at ransom.

Finally, it is profound to note that it is reformation that defines history of many entities. For instance, the Pilgrim Fathers of America would not have been a reality were it not for reformation. It has significantly affected the contemporary view of politics, as compared to ancient times when the Roman Church presided over politics, manipulated emperors and kings and governed the supreme law of land. 

Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution is a rapid major change in the economy of a country, which is characterized by the introduction of automobiles, or by significant change in the established kinds and techniques of using such machines. It was the most pertinent developments in the history of the world over the past three centuries and which hitherto has an enormous perpetual impact on the shape of the contemporary world. By its activities, Industrialization has made major alterations of people’s dwelling places, behaviors and how they conduct their political affairs.

Britain was the pioneer country in the Industrial Revolution in the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries, before it spread to United States, Italy, Germany, Japan, among other countries (Goloboy 2008). The revolution enable was spontaneous because of its fervent characteristic to salvage societies from the then uncivilized way of doing things, dubbed Malthusian trap. Since then, the societies began realizing an upsurge in production which engendered a corresponding rise in population across the world. In Great Britain, however, the technological breakthroughs fast tracked production to outpace the growth of population. This improved the living standards of majority of the citizens, following the unprecedented amount of affluence and comfort that was realized. 

The second country to realize industrial revolution on the Asian continent was Japan. This was possible after the five Japanese Samurai made their way into Britain in the 1860s and studied English industrial techniques secretly and replicated them in Japan (Goloboy 2008). The illiteracy and, therefore, the inability of the revolutionaries to think in a conventional way is what necessitated and spurred the transfer of the technology to other countries on a large scale smuggling and plagiarism. 

The first fruits of industrialization were steel, iron, steam and fossil fuels. They saw the birth of steam engines and railway transport before motorcars came into play. Later, numerous inventions, including computers, led to many significant discoveries that have had an amazing impact on the political and socio-economic aspects of people’s lives. 

Summarily, the world in its current situation is an abstract of the Industrial Revolution which has to a large degree made life easier, enjoyable and its dynamics endurable and manageable. Though there are demerits of this revolution, such as perpetual territorial conflicts, as a result of scramble for natural resources, accident related fatalities struggle for political supremacy over the world’s economy among others, the perennial fact still places the merits of Industrial Revolution ahead of the demerits.