For courses on Social Problems.
Macionis's Social Problems is the only social problems text that explains how society frames social problems and solutions through politics. The text analyzes social issues and policies, using the concepts of sociological theory and the everyday language of politics.
This text helps students understand the attitudes and values that define the political spectrum in the United States. Once students know how social problems are defined by our society through politics, and how the policies to solve these problems are developed, students are able to become involved in solving social problems through activism and political involvement.
Table of Contents:
BRIEF TABLE OF CONTENTS
Part I: Sociology’s Basic Approach
Chapter 1: Sociology: Studying Social Problems
Part II: Problems of Social Inequality
Chapter 2: Poverty and Wealth
Chapter 3: Racial and Ethnic Inequality
Chapter 4: Gender Inequality
Chapter 5: Aging and Inequality
Part III: Problems of Deviance, Conformity, and Well-Being
Chapter 6: Crime and Criminal Justice
Chapter 7: Violence
Chapter 8: Sexuality
Chapter 9: Alcohol and Other Drugs
Chapter 10: Physical and Mental Health
Part IV: Problems of Social Institutions
Chapter 11: Economy and Politics
Chapter 12: Work and the Workplace
Chapter 13: Family Life
Chapter 14: Education
Chapter 15: Urban Life
Part V: Global Problems
Chapter 16: Population and Global Inequality
Chapter 17: Technology and the Environment
Chapter 18: War and Terrorism
COMPREHENSIVE TABLE OF CONTENTS
Part I: Sociology’s Basic Approach
Chapter 1: Sociology: Studying Social Problems
Seeing Patterns: The Sociological Imagination
Social Problems: The Basics
Beyond Our Borders: A Global Perspective
Analyzing Social Problems: Sociological Theory
Finding the Facts: Sociological Research
Responding to Social Problems: Social Policy
Politics: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions
Going On from Here
Making the Grade
Part II: Problems of Social Inequality
Chapter 2: Poverty and Wealth
Economic Inequality in the United States
The Rich and the Poor: A Social Profile
Problems Linked to Poverty
Responding to Poverty: The Welfare System
Theoretical Analysis: Understanding Poverty
Politics and Poverty: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions
Going on from Here
Making the Grade
Chapter 3: Racial and Ethnic Inequality
Race and Ethnicity
Patterns of Majority-Minority Interaction
The Social Standing of U.S. Minorities
Prejudice
Discrimination
Theoretical Analysis: Understanding Racial and Ethnic Inequality
Politics, Race, and Ethnicity: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions
Going on From Here
Making the Grade
Chapter 4: Gender Inequality
What is Gender?
Gender and Social Institutions
Gender Stratification
Theoretical Analysis: Understanding Gender Inequality
Feminism
Politics and Gender: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions
Going on From Here
Making the Grade
Chapter 5: Aging and Inequality
Growing Old
The Graying of the United States
Problems of Aging
Theoretical Analysis: Understanding Aging and Inequality
Politics and Aging: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions
Going on From Here
Making the Grade
Part III: Problems of Deviance, Conformity, and Well-Being
Chapter 6: Crime and Criminal Justice
Norms, Law, and Crime
Crime: The Extent of the Problem
“Street Crime”: Who Are the Criminals?
Other Dimensions of the Crime Problem
The Criminal Justice System
Explaining Crime: Biological and Psychological Theories
Explaining Crime: Sociological Theories
Politics and Crime: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions
Going on From Here
Making the Grade
Chapter 7: Violence
What is Violence?
Criminal Violence
Family Violence
Social Dimensions of Violence
Explaining Violence: Biological and Psychological Theories
Explaining Violence: Sociological Theories
Politics and Violence: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions
Going on From Here
Making the Grade
Chapter 8: Sexuality
What is Sex?
Sexual Attitudes in the Unites States
Sexual Orientation
Pornography
Sexual Harassment
Prostitution
Teenage Pregnancy
Abortion
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Theoretical Analysis: Understanding Sexuality
Politics and Sexuality: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions
Going on From Here
Making the Grade
Chapter 9: Alcohol and Other Drugs
What Is a Drug?
The Extent of Drug Use
Types of Drugs
Drugs and Other Social Problems
Social Policy: Responding to the Drug Problem
Theoretical Analysis: Understanding Drug-Related Social Problems
Politics and Drugs: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions
Going on From Here
Making the Grade
Chapter 10: Physical and Mental Health
Health and Illness: A Global Perspective
Health Policy: Paying for Care
Health Care in the United States: A System in Crisis?
Mental Health and Illness
Theoretical Analysis: Understanding Heath Problems
Politics and Health: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions
Going on From Here
Making the Grade
Part IV: Problems of Social Institutions
Chapter 11: Economy and Politics
Economic Systems: Defining Justice, Defining Problems
The Economy and Politics
Problems of the U.S. Political Economy
Theoretical Analysis: Understanding Economic and Political Problems
Politics and Economy: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions
Going on From Here
Making the Grade
Chapter 12: Work and the Workplace
The Importance of Work
Structural Changes in the U.S. Economy
Other Problems of the U.S. Workforce
New Information Technology: The Brave New Workplace
Theoretical Analysis: Understanding Work-Related Problems
Politics and the Workplace: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions
Going on From Here
Making the Grade
Chapter 13: Family Life
What is a Family?
Controversies over Family Life
Theoretical Analysis: Understanding Family Problems
Politics and Family Life: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions
Going on From Here
Making the Grade
Chapter 14: Education
Problems of Education: A Global Perspective
Problems with U.S. Education
Theoretical Analysis: Understanding Educational Problems
Politics and Education: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions
Going on From Here
Making the Grade
Chapter 15: Urban Life
Cities: Then and Now
Problems of Today’s Cities
Theoretical Analysis: Understanding Urban Problems
Politics and Urban Life: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions
Going on From Here
Making the Grade
Part V: Global Problems
Chapter 16: Population and Global Inequality
Global Population Increase
Global Inequality
Theoretical Analysis: Understanding Global Inequality
Politics and Global Inequality: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions
Going on From Here
Making the Grade
Chapter 17: Technology and the Environment
Ecology: Studying the Natural Environment
Environmental Problems
Theoretical Analysis: Understanding Environmental Problems
Politics and the Environment: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions
Going on From Here
Making the Grade
Chapter 18: War and Terrorism
War and Peace: Basic Definitions
Terrorism
Theoretical Analysis: Understanding War and Terrorism
Politics and War: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions
Going On from Here
Making the Grade
About the Author :
John Macionis was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a doctorate in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania.
His publications are wide-ranging, focusing on community life in the United States, interpersonal intimacy in families, effective teaching, humor, new information technology, and the importance of global education. He collaborates on international editions of the texts: Sociology: Canadian Edition; Society: The Basics, Canadian Edition; and Sociology: A Global Introduction. Sociology is also available for high school students and in various foreign-language editions.
In addition, Macionis and Nijole V. Benokraitis have edited the best-selling anthology Seeing Ourselves: Classic, Contemporary, and Cross-Cultural Readings in Sociology, also available in a Canadian edition. Macionis and Vincent Parrillo have written the leading urban studies text, Cities and Urban Life (Prentice Hall). Macionis’s most recent textbook is Social Problems (Prentice Hall), now in its third edition and the leading book in this field. The latest on all the Macionis textbooks, as well as information and dozens of Internet links of interest to students and faculty in sociology, are found at the author’s personal Web site: http://www.macionis.com or http://www.TheSociologyPage.com. Additional information, instructor resources, and online student study guides for the texts are found at the Prentice Hall site: http://www.prenhall.com/macionis.
John Macionis is Professor and Distinguished Scholar of Sociology at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, where he has taught for almost thirty years. During that time, he has chaired the Sociology Department, directed the college’s multidisciplinary program in humane studies, presided over the campus senate and the college’s faculty, and taught sociology to thousands of students.
In 2002, the American Sociological Association presented Macionis with the Award for Distinguished Contributions to Teaching, citing his innovative use of global material as well as the introduction of new teaching technology in his textbooks.
Professor Macionis has been active in academic programs in other countries, having traveled to some fifty nations. He writes, “I am an ambitious traveler, eager to learn and, through the texts, to share much of what I discover with students, many of whom know little about the rest of the world. For me, traveling and writing are all dimensions of teaching. First, and foremost, I am a teacher–a passion for teaching animates everything I do.”
The Macionis family–John, Amy, and children McLean and Whitney–live on a farm in rural Ohio. In his free time, Macionis enjoys tennis, swimming, hiking, and playing oldies rock-and-roll (he recently released his first CD). Macionis is as an environmental activist in the Lake George region of New York’s Adirondack Mountains, working with a number of organizations, including the Lake George Land Conservancy, where he serves as president of the board of trustees.
