Overview

There is no adequate definition of social problems within sociology, and there is not and never has been a sociology of social problems. That observation is the point of departure of this book. The authors aim to provide such a definition and to prepare the ground for the empirical study of social problems. They are aware that their objective will strike many fellow sociologists as ambitious, perhaps even arrogant. Their work challenges sociologists who have, over a period of fifty years, written treatises on social problems, produced textbooks cataloguing the nature, distribution, and causes of these problems, and taught many sociology courses. It is only natural that the authors' work will be viewed as controversial in light of the large literature which has established a ""sociology of"" a wide range of social problems-the sociology of race relations, prostitution, poverty, crime, mental illness, and so forth. In the 1970s when the authors were preparing for a seminar on the sociology of social problems, their review of the ""literature"" revealed the absence of any systematic, coherent statement of theory or method in the study of social problems. For many years the subject was listed and offered by university departments of sociology as a ""service course"" to present undergraduates with what they should know about the various ""social pathologies"" that exist in their society. This conception of social problems for several decades has been reflected in the substance and quality of the literature dominated by textbooks. In 'Constructing Social Problems', the authors propose that social problems be conceived as the claims-making activities of individuals or groups regarding social conditions they consider unjust, immoral, or harmful and that should be addressed. This perspective, as the authors have formulated it, conceives of social problems as a process of interaction that produces social problems as social facts in society. The authors further propose that this process and the social facts it produces are the data to be researched for the sociology of social problems. This volume will be of interest to those concerned with the discipline of sociology, especially its current theoretical development and growth.

Full Product Details

Author:   Malcolm Spector ,  John I. Kitsuse
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Inc
Imprint:   Transaction Publishers
Edition:   New edition
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.10cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.280kg
ISBN:  

9780765807168

ISBN 10:   0765807165
Pages:   196
Publication Date:   31 August 2000
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Introduction to the Transaction Edition Chapter 1     Introduction      Social Problems: Some Examples      Definitions of Words      The Library of Congress Treatment of Homosexuality      The Yellow Pages      Psychiatric Nomenclature on Homosexuality       Some Related Lines of Investigation Chapter 2    Functional and Normative Definitions      The Functional Etiological Approach       The Normative Approach       Whose Normative Standards?       Conclusion Chapter 3    The Value-Conflict School      Inconsistencies in the Value-Conflict Position       Recent Value-Conflict Writings Chapter 4    Social Problems and Deviance: Some Parallels      Labeling Theory      Interpretation      Conclusion Chapter 5    Social Problems as Claims-Making Activities      Social Problems as Activities       A Definition of Social Problems       Claims-Making Activities      Kinds of Questions about Claims       The Role of Values       Summary Chapter 6    The Description and Analysis of Social Problems Activities: An Extended Empirical Example      Social Problems as Activities: What Would the Research Look Like?       Social Problems in the American Psychiatric Association: A Case Study       Concluding Remarks Chapter 7    The Natural History of Social Problems      Trailer Camps in Detroit       Lemert's Replication       Induction and Generalization       Emergence and Development       Natural History of Social Problems: A Reformulation       Some Further Considerations       Is There a Natural History of Social Problems? Chapter 8    Teaching Social Problems      Project 1: Recognizing and Defining Social Problems      Project 2: Social Problems Activities       Project 3: Social Reformers and Crusaders       Project 4: A Legislative History       Project 5: Subject Indexes as Data       Project 6: The Experts Difficulties of the Perspective References  Name Index  Subject Index

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Malcolm Spector, John I. Kitsuse

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