Social Problems (Third Edition)

A complete set of tools for analyzing any social problem. Updated with nine new end-of-chapter case studies and more than 50 new boxed examples, the Third Edition of Joel Best's Social Problems elucidates the complex, competitive process through which social problems emerge, paying particular attention to how resources and rhetoric affect each stage of the process. Drawing on social constructionist theory, Best shows how activists, experts, and their opponents engage in claimsmaking, and how the media then report on these claims, prompting public reaction and driving policy. In order to help students connect theory to everyday life, Joel Best fills the book with colorful examples and real-world case studies. Social Problems, 3e Half Title Recent Sociology Titles from W. W. Norton Title Page Copyright Contents Figures Boxes A Note to the Reader Acknowledgments 1. The Social Problems Process 2. Claims Case Study • Threats to the American Dream as a Cultural Resource 3. Activists as Claimsmakers Case Study • Mobilizing over Income Inequality 4. Experts as Claimsmakers Case Study • Forecasting the Future 5. The Media and Claims Case Study • Democratizing the Means of Media Production and Reproduction 6. Public Reaction Case Study • Public Reactions to Epidemics 7. Policymaking Case Study • Legalizing Marijuana and Same-Sex Marriage 8. Social Problems Work Case Study • Responding to Police Violence 9. Policy Outcomes Case Study • Modifying Student Loans 10. Claims across Space and Time Case Study • Is Social Problems Theory Ethnocentric? 11. The Uses of the Constructionist Stance Glossary References Index The Social problems process Claims. Case study : Threats to the American dream as a cultural resource Activists as claimsmakers. Case study: Mobilizing over income inequality Experts as claimsmakers. Case study : Forecasting the future The media and claims. Case study : Democratizing the means of media production and reproduction Public reaction. Case study : Public reactions to epidemics Policymaking. Case study : Legalizing marijuana and same-sex marriage Social problems work. Case study : Responding to police violence Policy outcomes. Case study : Modifying student loans Clains across space and time. Case study : Is Social Problems Theory ethnocentric? The uses of the constructionist stance. Updated with more than 50 new case studies and examples, this book elucidates the complex, competitive process through which social problems emerge, paying particular attention to how resources and rhetoric affect each stage of the process, Joel Best shows how activists, experts, and their opponents engage in claimsmaking, and how the media then report on these claims, prompting public reaction and driving policy. Colorful examples and real-world case studies help connect theory to everyday life.