The Sociological Imagination

In the "The Sociological Imagination", Mills develops the idea of sociological imagination, the means by which the relation between self and society can be understoood. In it, Mills tried to reconcile two varying, abstract conceptions of social reality, the "individual" and the "society", and thereby challenged the dominant sociological discourse to define some of its most basic terms and be forthright about the premises behind its definations. He began the project of reconciliation and challenge with critiques of "grand theory" and "abstracted empiricism", outlining and criticizing their use in the current sociology of the day. In 1998, The International Sociological Association listed the work as the second most important sociological book of the 20th century.