Angles Of Vision: How To Understand Social Problems

by Beeghley,Leonard

• ISBN13: 9780813329499
• ISBN10: 0813329493
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 1998-07-31
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Angles of Visionis a compact text that provides students with basic information about social problems and teaches them a strategy for understanding these issues. Students learn how to distinguish between individual and structural analyses and the importance of placing issues in a historical and international context to gain a clearer understanding. In so doing, students come to appreciate that sociology is a hypothesis-testing discipline. The author uses metaphors, vignettes, and humor to convey the fundamental concepts, key findings, and methods by which sociologists understand social problems.Each chapter is organized to facilitate students understanding. First the issue is presented. The reasons why it is considered a social problem are explained along with a brief history. Second, historical and international data on the issue are sketched, ordinarily in simple tables or figures. The historical data go back as far as plausible, usually a century or more. The international data usually compare the U.S. with Western European nations, such as the U.K., France, and others. Third, the consequences of the issue are discussed. Fourth, the way individuals affect and are affected by the problem is outlined. Fifth, the relationship between social structure and the problem is explained. Finally, the implications of the problem are reviewed. Jargon-free writing style and use of humor and anecdotes clearly illustrate concepts and hold student's interest. Historical and international data provide students with a broader and more empirical basis with which to examine social problems. Looks at social problems from different "angles of vision" such as individual or structural. Emphasizes the importance of hypothesis testing.Angles of Visionis a compact text that provides students with a strategy for understanding social problems. Ten readable chapters cover: abortion, gender inequality, racial and ethnic inequality, poverty, drugs, homicide, aging, health. Chapters begin with a brief outline of what is to follow, and end with a short list of further reading. Each chapter succinctly addresses the dimensions of the problem, its consequences, its effect on individuals, its effect on the social structure, and its implications. Key studies, comprehensive historical and comparative data, fundamental concepts, and key methods are explained using metaphors, vignettes, and humor that will draw your students in, while giving them a firm grounding in social problems.

Author Biography

Leonard Beeghley is professor of sociology at the University of Florida at Gainesville.

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures	p. x
Preface	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xiii
The Study of Social Problems	p. 1
Defining Social Problems	p. 3
Understanding Social Problems	p. 10
Notes	p. 19
Recommended Reading	p. 20
Abortion	p. 21
Dimensions of Abortion	p. 23
Consequences of Abortion	p. 27
Individuals and Abortion	p. 28
Social Structure and Abortion	p. 31
Implications	p. 41
Notes	p. 41
Recommended Reading	p. 42
Gender Inequality	p. 43
Dimensions of Gender Inequality	p. 45
Consequences of Gender Inequality	p. 50
Individuals and Gender Inequality	p. 55
Social Structure and Gender Inequality	p. 59
Implications	p. 67
Notes	p. 69
Recommended Reading	p. 70
Racial and Ethnic Inequality	p. 71
Dimensions of Racial and Ethnic Inequality	p. 73
Consequences of Racial and Ethnic Inequality	p. 80
Individuals and Racial and Ethnic Inequality	p. 82
Social Structure and Racial and Ethnic Inequality	p. 87
Implications	p. 93
Notes	p. 95
Recommended Reading	p. 96
Poverty	p. 97
Dimensions of Poverty	p. 98
Consequences of Poverty	p. 101
Individuals and Poverty	p. 105
Social Structure and Poverty	p. 107
Implications	p. 116
Notes	p. 118
Recommended Reading	p. 118
Drugs	p. 119
Dimensions of Drug Use	p. 121
Consequences of Drug Abuse	p. 126
Individuals and Drug Use and Abuse	p. 129
Social Structure and Drug Use	p. 134
Implications	p. 141
Notes	p. 144
Recommended Reading	p. 144
Homicide	p. 145
Dimensions of Homicide	p. 147
Consequences of Homicide	p. 149
Individuals and Homicide	p. 152
Social Structure and Homicide	p. 155
Implications	p. 160
Notes	p. 163
Recommended Reading	p. 164
An Aging Population	p. 165
Dimensions of the Aging Population	p. 166
Consequences of an Aging Population	p. 170
Individuals and an Aging Population	p. 175
Social Structure and an Aging Population	p. 180
Implications	p. 182
Notes	p. 188
Recommended Reading	p. 188
Health	p. 189
Dimensions of Health	p. 191
Consequences of Ill Health and the Emphasis on Treatment	p. 193
Individuals and Health	p. 197
Social Structure and Health	p. 200
Implications	p. 208
Notes	p. 210
Recommended Reading	p. 210
Reflections on the Study of Social Problems	p. 212
Notes	p. 220
Recommended Reading	p. 220
Glossary	p. 221
References	p. 225
Index	p. 249
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