The COVID-19 example from this week’s introduction described the perspective of the individual or an intimate social circle. This perspective represents a “personal trouble.”

The sociological imagination incorporates the societal experience of COVID-19, including the loss of jobs, the closing of businesses and schools, and the cancelling of public events.

These examples represent the effects of the virus on the individual level and that of the larger society, broadening the impact of the virus from a “personal trouble” to a “public issue.”

For this Discussion, you will consider a social issue of interest to you; what the issue “looks like” within society; and in what ways it is a “personal trouble” and “public issue.”

By Day 3

Consider a social issue that interests you and describe the social issue you selected.

Using your sociological imagination, describe what the social issue “looks like” within society.

Explain in what ways the social issue is a “personal problem” and a “public issue.”