Social Problems
An engaging, unconventional guide for how to think about social problems

An important alternative to traditional texts in its field, Social Problems explains how and why particular conditions come to be constructed as social problems. By evaluating the construction process, Joel Best, author of the best-selling Damned Lies and Statistics, equips students with the tools they need to analyze any social problem they encounter in the media. The Fourth Edition has been updated with new examples and case studies on timely topics such as campus sexual assault, the opioid epidemic, and fake news, helping students connect sociological theory to everyday life.
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Social Problems
An engaging, unconventional guide for how to think about social problems

An important alternative to traditional texts in its field, Social Problems explains how and why particular conditions come to be constructed as social problems. By evaluating the construction process, Joel Best, author of the best-selling Damned Lies and Statistics, equips students with the tools they need to analyze any social problem they encounter in the media. The Fourth Edition has been updated with new examples and case studies on timely topics such as campus sexual assault, the opioid epidemic, and fake news, helping students connect sociological theory to everyday life.
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Social Problems

Social Problems

by Joel Best
Social Problems

Social Problems

by Joel Best

Overview

An engaging, unconventional guide for how to think about social problems

An important alternative to traditional texts in its field, Social Problems explains how and why particular conditions come to be constructed as social problems. By evaluating the construction process, Joel Best, author of the best-selling Damned Lies and Statistics, equips students with the tools they need to analyze any social problem they encounter in the media. The Fourth Edition has been updated with new examples and case studies on timely topics such as campus sexual assault, the opioid epidemic, and fake news, helping students connect sociological theory to everyday life.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780393533040
Publisher: Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date: 10/15/2020
Edition description: Fourth Edition
Pages: 416
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

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.

Table of Contents

Figures vii

Boxes ix

A Note to the Reader xiii

Acknowledgments xv

1 The Social Problems Process 3

2 Claims 29

Case Study Threats to the American Dream as a Cultural Resource 62

3 Activist as Claimsmakers 66

Case Study Mobilizing Over Income Inequality 95

4 Experts as Claims makers 99

Case Study Forecasting the Future 126

5 The Media and Claims 130

Case Study Democratizing the Means of Media Production And Reproduction 161

6 Public Reaction 165

Case Study Public Reactions to Epidemics 195

7 Policymaking 199

Case Study Legalizing Marijuana and Same-Sex Marriage 227

8 Social Problems Work 231

Case Study Responding to Police Violence 260

9 Policy Outcomes 264

Case Study Modifying Student Loans 292

10 Claims across Space and Time 296

Case Study Is Social Problems Theory Ethnocentric? 325

11 The Use of the Constructionist Stance 329

Glossary 341

References 349

Index 363

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