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Seeing Social Problems: Readings on Contemporary Issues in the United States provides students with engaging, thought-provoking articles that examine a wide array of current social issues, the types of behaviors that perpetuate such problems, and how these issues affect the daily lives of Americans. Students are invited to critically consider how key issues have evolved and changed over time and to devise new ways for society to improve, both as people and as a nation.
A unique and groundbreaking collection of fifty-four articles organized in eleven thematic sections, SOCIAL PROBLEMS: READINGS WITH FOUR QUESTIONS, Fourth Edition, combines a rigorous structural/conflict approach with a strong emphasis on the real-life experiences of those impacted by social problems. The articles include both classic and contemporary readings covering a wide range of issues in the United States and around the world. The introductory article, written by Joel M. Charon, introduces four questions that students are urged to apply throughout the reader: What is the problem? What makes the problem a "social problem"? What causes the problem? What can be done? These questions give students a consistent sociological framework to help them analyze the readings and think critically about social problems. The articles have been painstakingly selected to hold student interest while illuminating key topics; most come from books and trade publications rather than dry academic journals. As a whole, the collection powerfully explores a wide range of contemporary social problems while providing the tools and context to help students think sociologically about the social problems around us.
With an engaging writing style that has made it a popular choice at both 2- and 4-year schools, the Third Edition of Anna Leon-Guerrero’s Social Problems textbook clearly presents contemporary social problems and addresses their consequences while emphasizing community involvement by both individuals and groups to achieve real solutions. With an overarching focus on social inequalities, this proven text provides a platform for discussion that encourages critical thinking through compelling illustrations, boxed features, learning checks, discussion questions, and online learning tools, all designed to inspire hope rather than simply present a disheartening parade of maladies.
Focus on Social Problems: A Contemporary Reader exposes students to current issues in the field. The selections in this reader help students understand how social problems are defined and constructed, increase their empirical knowledge about the causes and consequences of social problems, and develop empathy. Working from a critical social constructionist foundation, the readings address a wide variety of social problems. Editors Mindy Stombler and Amanda M. Jungels include a combination of research-based articles and popular media pieces. Each chapter opens with an interview of a social-change activist doing work related to the chapter's featured social problem, giving students an opportunity to envision themselves as agents of social change.
Seeing Social Problems: The Hidden Stories Behind Contemporary Issues shows students how to think about social problems in a new way, by carefully analyzing headline-making issues they are already familiar with and illustrating the connection between individual problems and larger social forces. Each chapter engages students in thinking about the world sociologically by focusing on a specific case study that represents a more general social problem. The chapters always start with the knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and personal experiences that students bring to the case—what author Ira Silver refers to as the conventional wisdom—and effectively demonstrate to them the “first wisdom” of sociology: “things are not what they seem.” In each instance, Silver shows how sociologists ask questions, gather empirical data, use multiple perspectives, and consider larger social forces to discover the “hidden stories” behind individual behavior.
