THE VOICE OF SOCIOLOGY - OBSTACLES TO TEACHING AND LEARNING THE SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION

Many sociologists seek to develop students' ''sociological imagination s,'' especially in their introductory classes. This paper has two diff erent but related purposes, one pedagogical and the other empirical. F irst, we try to create some unity about what sociologists mean by ''th e sociological imagination,'' and how they implement this concept. We argue that sociologists, like academics in other disciplines, fry to s peak in a certain ''voice'' which provides a unique analytical framewo rk but is distinct from the jargon of the discipline. Our second, empi rical goal is to assess why students do or do not learn the ''voice'' of sociology. We found that certain background characteristics df stud ents hinder or help the development of this voice. In addition, contra dictory, confusing, and competing pedagogies-both within sociology and across disciplines-impede the development of the sociological imagina tion.