Sociological Theories In Australia
Sociology is defined as the study of how human society developed, its functions and its structures, as well as its problems. Sociological imagination is a term created by C. Wright Mills in order to more accurately describe the type of insight that sociology brings. Mills defined the term as the application of imaginative thought to both ask and answer sociological questions by envisioning his values, individual choices, personality and core beliefs as if by an outsider (Mills, 1959). The following essay will explore sociological imagination using the biography of the author.
History
The history of the country and world that I live in has greatly affected how I view the world and experience my life. The Strauss-Howe generational theory predicted …show more content…
Women have had the ability to vote in Queensland since 1905 and the ability to stand for parliament since 1915 (AUSFOLIO, 1993). Growing up in a society that already had established firm structures around gender and against gender bias and discrimination gave me the confidence to feel free to explore opportunities and feel like I could contribute positively to the development of Australia’s society. Julia Gillard becoming the first female Prime Minister of Australia during my early teenage years also contributed to the development of self-confidence as a …show more content…
However, often times this is not the case. Ethnocentrism has played a huge part in Australia’s history as well as my own life. Growing up in a very ethnocentric Baptist Christian family, cultural relativity was not something I was taught, nor was appreciated in my household. However, once I began secondary school it became a huge focus of my education, in particular in regards to refugees. Multiculturalism is becoming more and more accepted in Australia, although a survey conducted by Schweitzer, Perkoulidis, Krome and Ludlow showed that over half of the participants disliked, hated and were hostile towards refugees as they viewed their culture a threat to Australian values, its own culture, as well as its economic resources (2005). This is not a new discovery, as we are once again reminded of the White Australia Policy and the Immigration Restriction Act introduced in
History
The history of the country and world that I live in has greatly affected how I view the world and experience my life. The Strauss-Howe generational theory predicted …show more content…
Women have had the ability to vote in Queensland since 1905 and the ability to stand for parliament since 1915 (AUSFOLIO, 1993). Growing up in a society that already had established firm structures around gender and against gender bias and discrimination gave me the confidence to feel free to explore opportunities and feel like I could contribute positively to the development of Australia’s society. Julia Gillard becoming the first female Prime Minister of Australia during my early teenage years also contributed to the development of self-confidence as a …show more content…
However, often times this is not the case. Ethnocentrism has played a huge part in Australia’s history as well as my own life. Growing up in a very ethnocentric Baptist Christian family, cultural relativity was not something I was taught, nor was appreciated in my household. However, once I began secondary school it became a huge focus of my education, in particular in regards to refugees. Multiculturalism is becoming more and more accepted in Australia, although a survey conducted by Schweitzer, Perkoulidis, Krome and Ludlow showed that over half of the participants disliked, hated and were hostile towards refugees as they viewed their culture a threat to Australian values, its own culture, as well as its economic resources (2005). This is not a new discovery, as we are once again reminded of the White Australia Policy and the Immigration Restriction Act introduced in