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Liana DeVoe

Professor Popp

SOC 210

Oct. 13th, 2020

Sociological imagination and the Coronavirus

According to “Sociology in the Real World”, the sociological imagination is “a quality of

mind that allows us to understand the relationship between our individual circumstances and

larger social forces” (Ferris and Stein Ch. 1, pg. 12). This idea means that we can identify the

micro or individual and the macro or social reasons and effects for an event. For example, if a

female is passed up for a promotion it could be for a micro reason such as she did not have as

much experience as her male counterpart or it could be macro, such as a result from decades of

workplace gender inequality in society. Sometimes, it is difficult for people to determine the

macro reasons for events because they are caught up in their own individual-micro reasons. The

most common example of this is also work-related. When people are laid off, they tend to think

of their individual circumstances and not the macro reasons. Imagine a guy is fired from his job

with no explanation; he would probably focus on the fact that he, in particular, was fired. He

would wonder what he did wrong and what he could have done better. Those are all focusing on

the micro circumstances but there could be a more macro explanation for him being laid off,

including the company having to lay people off because of budgeting issues.

One event that happened to me was that all of my schooling was recently transferred

online. The individual or micro reason for this is to help me manage my time. I am a senior in

high school, but I am also taking college level classes at Wake Tech. Having all of my classes

online helps with my time management because some of my classes do not have meeting times
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so I can better spread out all of my work. It is also helpful because I not only have to manage my

time with school I also have after school activities like work, honors societies, and social events.

Having my classes online not only gives me more time to be able to pick up shifts at work, it also

gives me more opportunities to work on my college applications because otherwise I would have

to complete them between classes. Although I kind of miss going to school and seeing my

friends and I wish I got to experience my senior year in-person and get to attend football games

and pep rallies, online school has been working well for me. I have been getting good grades and

keeping up with my assignments while still socializing with my peers.

Although I have individual (micro) reasons for attending online school there is also a

macro or societal reason that has affected everyone: the coronavirus. The pandemic sweeping the

world right now has affected many people in many different ways. For the children of America,

it is greatly affecting how we learn because “every state in the country has ordered or

recommended closing schools, in many cases through the end of the academic year” (Goldstein

et al. par. 18). This is of course a great way to keep cases of the virus down, but it is negatively

affecting students. According to the New York Times, “Some teachers report that fewer than half

of their students are regularly participating” (Goldstein et al. par. 2). As absenteeism continues to

become a problem, so do the students' grades which increases the risk of students needing to

repeat a grade. There is also the issue of accessibility of online school. In more impoverished

areas, some children do not have access to computers and even if the school provides them with

one they might not have access to the internet. The New York Times reported that “The dramatic

split promises to further deepen the typical academic achievement gaps between poor, middle-

class and wealthy students” (Goldstein et al. par. 10). This means that not only is the coronavirus

negatively affecting all students it is also increasing the gap between poor and wealthy students.
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These more macro level effects of online school have also affected me and although I have

individual reasons for doing online school the macro circumstances trump those reasons because

I have to follow the guidelines put in place by the state and my school.

The definition of a utopia according to “Sociology in the Real World” is: “an ideal

society in which all social ills have been overcome” (Ferris and Stein Ch. 15, pg. 432). In a

utopia everyone would be happy, and the people would not have to deal with disease, prejudice,

conflict, etc. One famous example of a utopia is the Garden of Eden illustrated in the Bible. In

the Garden of Eden there was “no knowledge of good or evil” so there was no conflict. The

garden was also beautiful and full of plants and other resources needed to survive. Eventually,

the devil in the form of a snake ruins this utopia. Another example of a Utopia is Wakanda from

the movie “The Black Panther”. Wakanda is “the most technologically advanced nation in the

world” in the marvel cinematic universe and it is hidden from the rest of society and is therefore

not burdened by society's demands (Page). Utopias are theoretical places of paradise where there

is no conflict or suffering but utopias are practically impossible to create.

If I was given the chance to create a utopia, I would start with getting rid of the

coronavirus. One of the aspects of a utopia is being free of disease, so I would not only find the

vaccine for the coronavirus I would create legislation that would make getting the vaccine

mandatory. Although that is super controversial because people want to be able to choose if they

get the vaccine or not, I think that because of the huge impact and death rate of this pandemic

everyone should have to get it. The vaccine would protect everyone, but it would especially

protect young children and the elderly, and I think protecting our elders and our future

generations is more important than maintaining your right to choose to get a vaccine. I would

also implement plans to make it easier for impoverished children to have access to the materials
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they need to get educated. Even without the coronavirus, impoverished children are at a

disadvantage for instance they endure a higher amount of absenteeism. According to the New

York Times, “Many obstacles can prevent children who live in poverty from making it to class: a

parent’s broken-down car or a teenager’s need to babysit siblings, for example” (Goldstein et al.

par. 6). Another aspect of society I would change is systematic discrimination. There are parts of

our society that have discrimination and prejudice engrained in them. I would get rid of this

prejudice because one aspect of a utopia is that no one would have to experience prejudice, and

everyone should be treated equally. Although these plans for a utopia sound great they would

never actually become a reality. A utopia is a very complicated idea and they are almost

impossible to create.
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Works Cited

Goldstein, Dana, et al. “As School Moves Online, Many Students Stay Logged Out.” The New

York Times, The New York Times, 6 Apr. 2020,

www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/us/coronavirus-schools-attendance-absent.html.

Page, Clarence. “'Black Panther's' Utopian Wakanda Is a Welcome Escape.”

Chicagotribune.com, Chicago Tribune, 31 May 2019,

www.chicagotribune.com/columns/clarence-page/ct-perspec-page-black-panther-

20180227-story.html.

Ferris, Kerry, and Jill Stein. The Real World: an Introduction to Sociology. W. W. Norton &

Company, 2020.