Synopses & Reviews
Mooney, Knox, and Schacht's UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL PROBLEMS uses a theoretically balanced, reader-friendly approach to provide a comprehensive exploration of social problems. The book progresses from a micro to macro level of analysis, focusing first on such problems as illness and health care, drugs and alcohol, and family problems, and then broadening to the larger issues of poverty and inequality, population growth, aging, environmental problems, and conflict around the world. The social problem in each chapter is framed in a global as well as U.S. context. In every chapter, the three major theoretical perspectives are applied to the social problem under discussion, and the consequences of the problem, as well as alternative solutions, are explored. Pedagogical features such as "Animals and Society," "The Human Side," and "Self and Society" enable you to grasp how social problems affect the lives of individuals and apply your understanding of social problems to your own life.
About the Author
Linda A. Mooney, Ph.D., is an associate professor of sociology at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. In addition to social problems, her specialties include law, criminology, and juvenile delinquency. She has published over 30 professional articles in such journals as SOCIAL FORCES, SOCIOLOGICAL INQUIRY, SEX ROLES, SOCIOLOGICAL QUARTERLY, and TEACHING SOCIOLOGY. She has won numerous teaching awards, including the University of North Carolina, Board of Governor's Distinguished Professor for Teaching Award. David Knox, Ph.D., is professor of sociology at East Carolina University, where he teaches courtship and marriage; marriage and the family; and sociology of human sexuality. He is a marriage and family therapist, as well as the author or co-author of 12 books and over 100 professional articles. Caroline Schacht, M.A. in Sociology and M.A. in Family Relations, is instructor of sociology at East Carolina University and teaches courtship and marriage, introduction to sociology, and the sociology of food. Her clinical work includes marriage and family relationships. She is also a divorce mediator and the coauthor of several books, including UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL PROBLEMS (Wadsworth 2010). She is married to David Knox.
Table of Contents
Part I: SOCIOLOGY AND THE STUDY OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS. 1. Thinking about Social Problems. Part II: PROBLEMS OF WELL-BEING. 2. Physical and Mental Health and Health Care. 3. Alcohol and Other Drugs. 4. Crime and Social Control. 5. Family Problems. Part III: PROBLEMS OF INEQUALITY. 6. Poverty and Economic Inequality. 7. Work and Unemployment. 8. Problems in Education. 9. Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration. 10. Gender Inequality. 11. Sexual Orientation and the Struggle for Equality. Part IV: PROBLEMS OF GLOBALIZATION. 12. Population Growth and Aging. 13. Environmental Problems. 14. Science and Technology. 15. Conflict, War, and Terrorism.