Social Problems Fourth Edition by Joel Best, ISBN-13: 978-0393533040
[PDF eBook eTextbook]
- Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; Fourth edition (October 15, 2020)
- Language: English
- 416 pages
- ISBN-10: 0393533042
- ISBN-13: 978-0393533040
An engaging, unconventional guide for how to think about social problems.
Table of Contents:
Cover
Publisher’s Notice
Half-title Page
Recent Sociology Titles from W. W. Norton
Title Page
Copyright
Contents
Figures
Boxes
A Note to the Reader
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: The Social Problems Process
Two Ways to Define Social Problems
Social Construction
The Basic Framework
The Plan of the Book: The Natural History of Social Problems
Additional Themes
Summary
Chapter 2: Claims
The Rhetoric of Claims
Claims, Their Audiences, and the Social Problems Marketplace
Evolution and Opposition
Cultural Resources
Understanding Claims
Case Study: Battles over Bathrooms
Chapter 3: Activists as Claimsmakers
Framing
Resource Mobilization
Opportunity Structures
The Advantages of Ownership
Activists: Principles and Practicalities
Case Study: Fracking and Social Movements
Chapter 4: Experts as Claimsmakers
Medicalization
The Role of Science
Evidence, Interests, and Advocacy
Officials as Expert Claimsmakers
Expert Claimsmakers in the Social Problems Process
Case Study: Expertise and Opioids
Chapter 5: The Media and Claims
What’s the News?
Changing News Media
Packaging Social Problems in the News
Is it Just Entertainment?
What about Social Media?
The Media’s Impact
The Media in the Social Problems Process
Case Study: Fake News
Chapter 6: Public Reaction
Measuring Public Opinion
Focus Groups and Other Interviews
Using Social Media and Online Searches to Determine Public Opinion
Legends, Jokes, and Other Folklore
The Public’s Role in the Social Problems Process
Case Study: How Public Opinion Changes
Chapter 7: Policymaking
Policy Domains
Pressures on Policymakers
Symbolic Politics and the Rhetoric of Policymaking
Case Study: Popular Hazards and Policymaking
Chapter 8: Social Problems Work
On the Job
Constructing Cases
The Subject’s View
Looking Over Their Shoulders
Everyday Social Problems Work
Case Study: Campuses Deal with Sexual Assault Complaints
Chapter 9: Policy Outcomes
New Claims Based on Policy Evaluation
Actors, Evidence, and Evaluation
The Search for Impartial Evaluations
Ideological Predispositions
Case Study: Walls, Dreamers, and Immigration Policies
Chapter 10: Claims across Space and Time
Comparison
Diffusion
Cycles in Claimsmaking
The Problem of Progress
Extending Our Focus across Space and Time
Case Study: Statues, Flags, and the Reconstruction of Historical Problems
Chapter 11: The Uses of the Constructionist Stance
Is This Stuff Useful?
Glossary
References
Index
Joel Best is a professor of sociology and criminal justice at the University of Delaware. Best’s research focuses on understanding how and why we become concerned with particular issues at particular moments in time. He’s written about the ways bad statistics creep into public debates and about dubious fears, such as the mistaken belief that poisoned Halloween candy poses a serious threat to our kids. His books include Damned Lies and Statistics, Kids Gone Wild, The Student Loan Mess and Flavor of the Month.
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