Sociological Imagination In Singapore

Sociological imagination is a unique way to engage the world around us. To think sociologically is to realise that what we are experiencing as personal problems have social roots and are often shared by many others. Many of our personal problems are in fact social issues. In this essay, we will use Sociological Imagination as the tool to identify the inseparable relations between the personal and the social, with the focus surrounding myself and my homeland, Singapore. I will first briefly elaborate on the events listed on my timeline and subsequently focus on one which I felt had the most crucial influence to my current life experience as a student in NUS, for a more in-depth analysis.

For the social part of my timeline, it all began on the

However, this connection can be formed simply by using Social Imagination. The perception of my life and Singapore can be examined from several different perspectives rather than adopting the simple act of comparison between both timelines. In the matter of my citizenship, I am always proud that Singapore has the top international airport in the world and that we can live together as Singaporean, regardless of race, language or religion. However, if Singapore was not expelled by Malaysia in 1965, and hence formed a country of her own, this would not be possible. Likewise, without my family and many other Singaporeans working hard to eliminate discrimination and make Changi Airport possible, Singapore would not stand at where she is today. It is very clear here that the social is linked to the personal, and via versa.

Another connection between the personal and the social in my timeline is NS. Without NS, my father would never have met my mother, as my mother would not be in the same cohort as my father. As such, the reason why I was born into this world was due to NS delaying my father from graduation by two-and-a-half years. Is it pure coincidence of my parents to meet each other or is it because society has caused my parents to end up in a place to meet. It is again clear how the social issue is connected to the personal issue

And this without a doubt would be the NS Amendment Act introduced in 1967.

As Mills has argued, sociology can show us that it is our society, and not our own problems, that is responsible for many of our issues. Sociological Imagination, as Mills further elaborated, is “the vivid awareness of the relationship between experience and the wider society”. In this case, what seems to be an irrelevant remote historical event is actually linked to events taking place in my undergraduate life in NUS. Without the NS Amendment Act, I would not have enlisted in NS, understood myself better in the process and subsequently earning my Golden Bayonet. Without this I would not have built up my confidence, and to step up to run for election as the 39th NUSSU President, and this would undeniably change my entire NUS experience.

So how can we look at this from Mill’s insight of Sociological Imagination? If not for NS, the lack of self-esteem by myself are more often than not seen as the outcome of personal weakness, resulted by an individual’s own falling short. People consequently search for reasons