Social Problems: Constructionist Readings

ISBN-13: 9780202307039 / Angielski / Miękka / 2003 / 288 str.

Donileen R. Loseke; Joel Best; Donileen R. Loseke

Opis

This collection of readings is aimed at several levels of students of social problems. It is accessible to the uninitiated who are not already familiar with the constructionist literature, and aimed at those who are not particularly interested in subtle theoretical and empirical issues of concern to academics studying social problems from constructionist perspectives. Some readings focus on the construction of problems by scientists and other professionals; others examine the work of social activists, mass media, and social service personnel. Among the topics included are constructionist studies of social inequalities, and of individual deviance; a comparison of the images of social problems in the United States with those in other countries; and an examination of the importance of politics and power in constructing public images of social problems.

Spis treści

Preface

I. Examining Social Problems
Introduction
1 The Changing Meanings of Spanking - Phillip W. Davis
2 Bullying as a Social Problem in Great Britain - Frank Furedi
3 The Problem with the Earthquake Problem - Robert A. Stallings
4 Reality Television Constructs Crime - Gray Cavender

II. Claims-Makers and Audiences
Introduction
5 Audiences Evaluate Statistics - Joel Best
6 Promoters of Hate Crime Legislation - Valerie Jenness and Kendal Broad
7 Psychiatrists Construct Homosexuality - Stuart A. Kirk and Herb Kutchins
8 Television Talk Shows Construct Morality - Kathleen S. Lowney

III. Constructing Conditions
Introduction
9 Smoking Problems in Japan - Jun Ayukawa
10 Crime Frames and their Sponsors - Theodore Sasson
11 Framing in the Fathers' Rights Movement - Gwyneth I. Williams and Rhys H. Williams
12 Factory Farming as a Social Problem - Karl R. Kunkel

IV. Constructing People
Introduction
13 The Rhetorical Appeal of Random Violence - Joel Best
14 Prostitutes Respond to AIDS - Valerie Jenness
15 Science Constructs PMS - Anne E. Figert
16 Multicultural Education as Moral Drama - Shan Netson-Rowe

V. Constructing Solutions
Introduction
17 The Homeless Mentally 111 and Involuntary Hospitalization - Donileen R. Loseke
18 Constructing a War on Drugs - Craig Reinarman and Harry G. Levine
19 Urine Testing and Social Control - William J. Staudenmeier
20 The Size Acceptance Movement - Jeffery Sobal

VI. Social Problems and Everyday Life
Introduction
21 Constructing the Need for "Low Fat" Food - S. Bryn Austin
22 Pregnant Women as a Social Problem - Carol Brooks-Gardner
23 Constructing Sexually Marginalized Catholics - Donileen R. Loseke and James C. Cavendish
24 The Beliefs of Recovery Religion - Kathleen S. Lowney

VII. Social Problems and Troubled People
Introduction
25 Medicalizing Childhood - Dorothy Pawluch
26 Teaching Gifted Children - Leslie Margolin
27 Constructing Insanity in Involuntary Commitment Hearings - James A. Holstein
28 Formula Stories and Support Groups for Battered Women - Donileen'R. Loseke

VIII. Evaluating Constructionist Perspectives on Social Problems
Introduction
29 "Crack Babies" and the Politics of Mothering - Jacqueline Litt and Maureen McNeil
30 The Symbolic Meanings of "Pedophile Priests" - Philip Jenkins
31 Horror Stories and the Construction of Child Abuse - John M. Johnson
32 Constructing the "Jewish Problem" in Nazi Germany - Ronald J. Berger

O autorze

Donileen Loseke