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Editor's Choice Custom Crossroads Reader to Accompany 'Social Problems'

Einband grossEditor's Choice Custom Crossroads Reader to Accompany 'Social Problems'
ISBN/GTIN
CHF50.00
inkl. 2.6 % MwSt.

Produkt

ZusammenfassungA short, inexpensive collection of readings from Pearson Custom Publishing's Crossroads database, selected by Linda Moghadam, University of Maryland specifically to accompany Social Problems 9/e.
Details
ISBN/GTIN978-0-205-39227-8
ProduktartBuch
EinbandartKartonierter Einband
Erscheinungsjahr2002
Auflage9. A.
ReihePrentice Hall
Seiten262 Seiten
SpracheEnglisch
Verlagsartikel-Nr.39227ALB
BZ-Nr.25016976

Inhalt/Kritik

Inhaltsverzeichnis
Sociological Approach to Social Problems


The Promise, C. Wright Mills.



What does it mean to think "sociologically?" The "sociological imagination," as described by Mills, requires its practitioners to ask three broad questions: (1) What are the components of the social structure of a society? (2) What is the historical era in which that society is located? and (3) What are the dominant values held by the members of that society? It is only by placing individual within their social and historical context (the intersection of history and biography) that social interaction can be adequately understood. Mills emphasized the importance of the distinction between personal "troubles," that reside within the character of the individual, and public "issues" that are shaped by the larger social structures in which individuals operate.



2. Wealth and Power: The Bias of the System.


Follow the Money, Dan Clawson, Alan Neustadtl, and Mark Weller.



The authors begin with the assertion that the ability to raise campaign funds is the primary determinant of election outcomes. Corporate donations are singled out for attention. When compared to other interest groups corporations wield more power; give many times more money than other groups; attempt to shape day to day legislative activities rather than just supporting a candidates election; and are decidedly undemocratic organizations. The legislative history of the Clean Air Act is used as an example of how corporations are able to exercise undue influence on the legislative process. The primacy of money in elections not only helps to circumvent the democratic process but it also requires an extraordinary amount of time and effort on the part of candidates to raise these funds.



3. World Population and Global Inequality.


Women in the Global Factory, Annette Fuentes and Barbara Ehrenreich.



Exportation of light manufacturing jobs from industrialized to Third world countries continues to grow as corporations pursue reduced labor costs. This has led to a dramatic increase in the demand for women's labor in these countries. Women are the preferred employees because they accept lower pay and are considered more malleable as workers due to patriarchal arrangements in these countries. The effects on women's status appears mixed. While the factory system both depends on and reinforces patriarchal control, studies also suggest that women are developing a greater sense of personal identity and independence as they become engaged in paid employment.



4. Threats to the Environment.


Ties that Bind: Native American Beliefs as a Foundation for Environmental Consciousness Annie L. Booth, And Harvey L. Jacobs.



Exploring the possibilities for a sustainable future, this article supports the position that cultural belief systems shape social structure, human relationships, and the relationships humans have with their environment. The authors contrast Native American belief systems which emphasize reciprocity, kinship with all human beings, and living in harmony with the environment, with the belief systems of Western industrial societies. European cultures place more emphasis on individualism, human domination of the environment and separation of the spiritual from the physical. It is these differences that help to explain the lack of ecological consciousness in western societies.



5. Demographic Changes in the United States.


Men and Women in the Caregiving Role, Rhonda J.V. Montgomery and Mary McGlenn Datwyler



Research on caregiving has documented the primacy of family members as caregivers for the elderly. Women are most often the family members responsible for providing this care. The gendered nature of caregiving and its acceptance as normative by male dominated legislatures have made it easier for policy makers to ignore the need for structural supports. The convergence of several demographic trends which include: the aging of the population; the continued growth in women's labor force participation; and reduction in custodial care services supported by the health care industry suggest that the problems of caregiving and caregivers will only increase in the future. The authors argue that failure to address these challenges pose serious consequences for the growing number of elderly in the U.S.



6. Urban Problems in the United States.


American Social Policy and the Ghetto Underclass, William Julius Wilson.



In this article Wilson describes the process of metropolitan deconcentration and the resulting spatial apartheid by race and social class within metropolitan areas. This process produces a downward spiral in cities which includes: further financial disinvestment growing joblessness, increased crime, decreased health and educational services, and decreased revenues for local governments. The experience of economic disadvantage in urban areas translates to the reduced political influence of cities on federal legislation and funding for social programs.



7. Poverty.


Media Magic: Making Class Invisible, Gregory Mantsios.



Given the magnitude of poverty in the United States and the extraordinary concentration of wealth, how is the perception of the U.S. as an egalitarian society maintained. The author suggests that social class is largely made invisible by the media ignoring the influence and class interests of the wealthy, promoting a vision of a universal middle class, and largely ignoring the hardships experienced by the poor that result from economic deprivation. When the media does cover poverty, the poor are typically treated in the abstract-largely faceless but also often blamed for their deprived circumstances. Political and economic systems that perpetuate economic inequality are largely ignored.



8. Racial and Ethnic Inequality.


White Privilege and Male Privilege, Peggy McIntosh.



The author confronts the reality of dominant group privilege: the rights and advantages (credibility, acceptance) that accrue to an individual based not on what they have earned or achieved, but on the basis of ascription-particularly by race, class, and sex. These privileges serve to maintain relative positions of power, yet at the same time are largely ignored by those who possess them. This illusion serves to maintain the "myth of meritocracy."



9. Gender Inequality.


Female Sexuality and the Beauty Myth, Naomi Wolfe.



The author argues that advertising doesn't sell sex and beauty. Rather sex is used to sell products by the creation of sexual insecurities and discontent. The beneficiaries of this "commodification of human sexuality" extend to industries as far reaching as defense. The potentially devastating effects on human interactions affect us all and are largely ignored.



10. Sexual Orientation.


The New Republic; Separate but Equal?



This editorial questions the expectations of traditional marriage (procreation and the enforcement of gender specific roles) and takes the position that modern marriage is (or should be) an institution intended to support the expression of committed and caring relationships with security and protection. The authors note that this protection should include children when present. Given this modern conception of marriage, the legalization of same sex marriages is not a radical step forward but rather a logical extension of this support to a diverse set of relationships. "Domestic partnership" legislation is viewed as a poor compromise and criticized as a modern form of "separate but equal" discrimination, whose primary purpose is to maintain stigma rather than social support.



11. Disability and Ableism.


Coming to Terms: Masculinity and Physical Disability, Thomas J. Gerschick and Adam Stephen Miller.



The authors explore the intersection of physical disability and "hegemonic masculinity," the dominant cultural standards and expectations for men in our society. Three models are offered for coping with this "double bind" of conflicting identities. The frameworks include accepting and emphasizing certain dominant characteristics of masculinity; redefining currents standards of masculinity on one's own terms; and rejecting dominant standards of masculinity. Examples of rejection are the least frequent but show the greatest prospect for change because of the recognition of the socially constructed nature of both masculinity and disability.



12. Crime and Justice.


Criminal Justice through the Looking Glass, or Winning by Losing, Jeffrey Reiman.



The author asks how we could spend so much on our criminal justice system and get so little in return. To answer this question one must consider both the manifest and latent functions of the criminal justice system. Reiman argues that the sources of crime, and acts labeled as crime, reside in our present social order. Yet it is this same social order that the criminal justice system serves to maintain. By using the analysis of the "looking glass" Reimann asks the reader to imagine a criminal justice system whose intent is to maintain a permanent class of criminals rather than to eliminate it. How different from our present system would this look?



13. Drugs.


Workaday World, Crack Economy, Philippe Bourgois.



Bourgois argues that underground economic activities such as dealing drugs and substance abuse must be examined in relationship to structural barriers to economic opportunities in the formal economy. The structural transformation of the economy has led to a declining number of blue collar jobs that pay a living wage. Young adults from low income families often lack the job skills and the resources (social capital, clothing) to succeed in white collar positions. In the absence of "living wage" jobs urban youth are more likely to turn to the drug trade or other jobs within the underground economy.



14. Work.


Temps Are Here to Stay, Jim Larson.



Temporary workers are not a new phenomenon in the labor force but their increased numbers and growth in positions traditionally considered fulltime professional occupations is. Employees, especially women, appreciate the flexibility offered by temporary work. Employers value the reduce labor costs which include health care and retirement benefits. Short term the benefit appears mutually beneficial. Long term wage differentials and absence of health and retirement benefits, however, suggest that temporary work has serious negative consequences for workers.



15. Families.


Through a Sociological Lens: Social Structure and Family Violence, Richard J. Gelles.



What is it about the family that makes it such a violence-prone institution. The author describes structural characteristics of the family that support the potential for violence among its members as well as intimacy and support. These include: the intensity of relationships; family roles assigned by ascription rather than interest or ability; the ideology of family privacy; gender and age inequality; and life stresses that are most keenly felt within the family such as births, death, unemployment. Gelles also discusses characteristics such as race and social location that are associated with domestic violence. The contributions of both psychological ands structural theories of intimate violence are discussed. The recent contributions of Feminist theory with its emphasis on praxis and its promotion of advocacy is also noted.



16. Education.


How Corporations are Buying Their Way into America's Classrooms Steven Manning.



What are the consequences when states and local school districts are unwilling or unable to adequately fund public education. One outcome pits "School house need against corporate greed." The result has been the selling of American public education. Whether it is the establishment of sales quotas for sponsors' products or the proliferation of advertising throughout schools in exchange for corporate support, private corporate influence is becoming an increasing presence in public classrooms, formerly thought to be the one place where children were free from commercial influences.



17. Health and Health Care Delivery.


The Medically Uninsured: Will They Always Be with Us?, Steven A. Schroeder.



The current number of U.S. citizens without health insurance and consequently little or no access to health care, constitutes an example of what Mills ("The Promise") would have described as a public issue. Reich would also characterize it as a violation of the "social compact." The author provides the most commonly offered explanations for this problem. Current trends in health care delivery include: a decrease in public hospitals; economic restructuring that has reduced the number of citizens with access to employee based insurance; and a focus on market forces and their impact on health care delivery-rather than the plight of the more than 40 million individuals without health insurance. The author sees no immediate prospects for change.



18. National Security in the Twenty-First Century.


Domestic Security for the American State: The FBI, Covert Repression, and Democratic Legitimacy, Kevin Gotham.



The author explores the following questions: How are ideological challenges to the status quo (dominant economic and political interests) contained in a democratic state? How is this accomplished without the perception of violent repression? Taking his lead from Weberian theories of the state, Gotham sees the answer to this question in the very structure of the U.S. state system. Through the use of covert action, dissident groups are neutralized while maintaining the illusion of democracy. By labeling these groups as "subversive" the state is deemed legitimate in carrying out activities intended to dismantle or disrupt movements that threaten the perceived interest of dominant structures. The Civil Rights Movement and the Anti-War Movement during Vietnam are used to illustrate how this structural contradiction of democracy is "reconciled."



19. Progressive Plan to Solve Society's Social Problems.


Broken Faith: Why We Need to Renew the Social Compact, Robert B. Reich.



Reich views growing social and economic inequality in the U.S. as a result of the withering of the social contract, the obligations that members of a society have toward one another. He suggests the causes of this include: citizens no longer feeling united in a common bond; the global economy in which wealthier citizens are less dependent on the local economy; the increasing invisibility of the poor; and the reduced perception of shared risk. He emphasizes the importance of social agency in order to re-knit the social fabric. It is essential that more citizens become involved in the political process-social change from the bottom up.mehr

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