In 1959, C.W. Mills published his now famous treatise on what sociology uniquely brings to
understanding the world and the people in it. Every sociologist, of whatever ilk, has had at least a
brush with the “sociological imagination,” and nearly everyone who has taken a sociology course
has encountered some version of it. As Mills argued, the link between the individual and society,
between personal troubles and social issues, between biography and history, or between individual
crises and institutional contradictions represents the core vision of the discipline of sociology. While
reminding ourselves of the “promise” may be a bit trite, its mention raises the critical question: Why
do we have to continually remind ourselves of the unique contribution that we, as sociologists, bring
to understanding health, illness, and healing?
Perhaps, we remind ourselves because the sociological imagination is so complex – a multilayered
perspective that ties together dynamics processes, social structures, and individual variation. While
Mills (1959, p. 4) himself argued that “ordinary men…do not possess the quality of mind essential
to grasp the interplay,” this seems a bit overplayed. There have always been people – in the academy,
in the workroom, or in the home – who have heard and understood the deafening voice of oppressive
social norms drowning out opportunity. There have always been people who have noted, described,
and taken advantage of changes in opportunity structures to improve their fate. And, despite modern
medicine’s reductionist and mechanical view of the body, which may or may not be changing, there
have always been the Rudolph Virchows, the Milton and Ruth Roemers, the George Readers, and
the Howard Waitzkins, alongside the majority. While the sociological perspective may find a particular
challenge in the United States with its strong strain of individualism, there have always been those
who have captured the hearts, sparked the intelligence, and harnessed the energy of the group as a
way to overcome the existing limits of their surroundings.