Contemporary Social Problems PDF

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Contemporary Social Problems SOCI-1004 Silcox Week 1 -

Buy textbook “social problems in a Diverse Society” - By kendall thompson and nygaard - 4th edition - Canadian version

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What is a Social Problem? - A social condition (such as poverty) - Or a pattern of behavior (such as substance abuse) - That disadvantages or harms individuals or society - Sufficient number of people believe public concern

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Discrimination - Actions or practices of dominant group members - Harmful impact on members of subordinate groups

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Hate crime - A physical attack against a person - Assumptions regarding his or her racial group, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, or ancestry

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Why study social problems? To understand social forces that shape our lives on personal and societal levels - To gain new insights into ourselves and connections between our world and that of other people - To make more effective decisions about these concerns Week 2

Seeing patterns: The Sociological Imagination ( C. Wright Mills) - ____ is a point of view that highlights how society affects the experiences we have and the choices we make - Sociology: the systematic study of human societies - Society: people who live within some territory and share patterns of behaviour - Culture: a way of life including widespread values (about what is good and bad), beliefs (about what is true), and behaviour (what people do every day) - Eg. Unemployment in Canada

Social Problems: The Basics - Social Problem: a condition that undermines the well-being of some or all members of a society and is usually a matter of public controversy - “Condition” refers to any situation that at least some people define as troublesome - A particular social problem is rarely harmful to everyone - Social problems sparks5t public controversy Social Problems over Time - What are our country’s most serious social problems? - Comparing the two lists in the table, we find three issues on both: the economy, unemployment, and dissatisfaction with government What is a social construct? Social problems: The Social-Constructionist Approach - The social constructionist approach: the assertion that social problems arise as people define conditions as undesirable and in need of change - Any issue that is not considered a problem now may be viewed quite differently at some point in the future - Recognizing that the subjective and objective importance of social issues may differ opens the door for a deeper understanding of social change - Eg. Gender inequality in ancient times - Eg. Immigration in the USA in 2016 onward Social Problems: Claims Making - Claims making: efforts by officials, individuals, and organizations to convince others that a particular issue or situation should be defined as a social problem - The greater the media coverage of a topic and the more media stories argue for change, the more likely the issue in question is to develop into a social problem - Eg. Abortion controversy - One important dimension of claims making is the deliberate claims making is the deliberate use of language - Eg. usage of words like “tough on crime”,”cracking down”,”war on terrorism”,”reign of terror” Problems and Social Movements Four Stages in the Life Course of a Social Movement - A Social Movement is an organized effort at claims making that tries to shape the way people think about an issue in order to encourage or discourage social change - Emergence (initial claims are made) → Coalescence (claims are publicized) → Formalization (claims are recognized as part of political debate) → Decline (public interest in claims goes down)

Analyzing Social Problems: Sociological Theory

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Theory: a statement of how and why specific facts are related A theoretical approach: a basic image of society that guides theory and research

The Structural Functional Approach - The structural-functional approach: a theoretical framework that sees society as a system of many interrelated parts - _______: major spheres of social life, or societal subsystems, organized to meet a basic human need - Early Functional Theories: - Social Pathology Theory - Eg. Spencer’s theory of “survival of the fittest” - Eg. Social Darwinism The Structural-Functional Approach - The Chicago School: problems as disorganization - The Chicago School theory originated at the University of Chicago - Linked problems not to deficient people but to social “disorganization” - Holds that problems arise when society breaks down due to social change that occurs too rapidly The Structural-Functional Approach - More recent Functionalism: Problems as Dysfunctions - Sociologists began to study the positive functions (or “eufunctions” - They identified both functions that are intended and widely recognized (the “manifest functions”) as well as others that are unintended and less well known (called “latent functions”) - Sociologist noted that social patterns also have negative functions (called “dysfunctions”) The Social Conflict Approach - The social-conflict approach is a theoretical framework that sees society as divided by inequality and conflict - Conflict theories claim that social problems arise from the division of our society into “haves” and “have-nots” The Social Conflict Approach - Marxist Theory: Problems and class conflict - Marxist theory - called “class conflict theory” - an explanation of social problems guided by Karl Marx’s theory of class struggle - Marx criticized society for concentrating most of this wealth in the hands of a few - Marx devoted his life to analyzing capitalism - Social problems as an inevitable result of capitalist economy

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Capitalism is a system that does not serve the people but only seeks profit for the small share of people who own factories and other productive property

The Social-Conflict Approach - Marxist Theory: Problems and class conflict - Marx was critical of modern society, but he was also optimistic about the future - A system that failed to meet the needs of most people, capitalism would bring about its own destruction - The rich would become richer and richer, while the poor would have less and less - In the long term workers would join together, rise up, and end this oppressive system The Feminist Approach - Feminism is a political movement that seeks the social equality of women and men - Gender-conflict theory explains social problems in terms of men’s dominance over women - During the past century, women working full time still earn 75 cents in comparison to men’s dollar - In recent decades, an increasing share of the poor is made up of women and their children The Symbolic Interaction Approach - The symbolic-interaction approach: a theoretical framework that sees society as the product of individuals interacting with one another - Learning theory: Problems and the social Environment] - Learning theory claims that people learn troublesome attitudes and behaviours from others around them - E.g., Decisions to engage in sex work (reserch by Davis) - ______: Reality of any situation depends on interpretations of it - Labeling Theory: Problems and Social Definitions Finding the Facts: Sociological Research - Some Examples: - Barbara Ehrenreich - The willingness to work hard is sometimes not enough to escape poverty - Lois Benjamin - Success provides no escape from racial prejudice - William Julius Wilson - People who have lived in poverty for many years contend with a host of social problems, including joblessness, unstable families, and, perhaps worst of all, a loss of hope

Survey Research: Asking Questions

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A research method in which subjects respond to items on a questionnaire or in an interview Questionnaires offer the chance for greater breadth of opinion, and interview can provide greater depth of understanding The key to a successful survey is selecting a sample of people that represent the larger population of interest

Field Research: Joining In - A research method for observing people while joining them in their everyday activities - Investigating a particular community to understand the problems and hopes of its people - Challenges: - Can be dangerous - Requires a lot of time, often a year or more - Have to balance the demands of being a participant with those of an observer Experimental Research: Looking for Causes - A research method for investigating cause and effect relationships under tightly controlled conditions - Carried out in a specially designed laboratory - Researchers change one variable while keeping the others the same - Comparing results allows them to identify specific causes of patterns of behavior Secondary Analysis: Using Available Data - A research method that makes use of data originally collected by others - Just because data are easy to find does not mean that the data are accurate - Have to be careful about the data source - The federal government is a good source of data about almost all aspects of U.S. society - Problems: - Researcher man be unaware of any bias or errors in data Truth, Science, and Politics - Science can help us learn, say, how many Canadian Families are poor and why they are poor - But science cannot tell us what we should do about poverty - Max Weber urged his colleagues to focus on the facts in an effort to make research value-free - Karl Marx: The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it

Truth and Statistics - Numbers are not always so truthful, for two reasons - Like all research findings, numbers must be interpreted

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Organizations, politicians, and even sociologists often present statistics that support some preferred conclusion Three tips to make you a more critical reader - Check how researchers define their terms - Remember that research is never perfect - Researchers may spin their statistics

Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions - The Political Spectrum - A continuum representing a range of political attitudes from “left” to right” - Attitudes on the political spectrum range from the far left at one extreme through “middle of the road” views at the center to the far right at the other extreme - At any time, there is always a wide variation in this nation’s political thinking Social Issues - Social issues are political debates involving moral judgements about how people should live - Leaning Left: social liberals - People should be free to shape their lifestyles - Oppose the death penalty - Leaning Right: social conservatives - Respectful of traditional values & want to conserve them - Endorse the death penalty Economic Issues - Economic issues are political debates about how a society should produce and distribute material resources - Leaning Left: economic liberals - Favour government regulation of the economy in order to reduce inequality - Leaning Right: economic conservatives - The market - not government officials - can set wage levels more fairly and efficiently - Support lower tax rates

Who thinks what? - Most of us - whatever our social standing - tend to hold some combination of liberal and conservative attitudes

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This inconsistency helps explain why so many people call themselves “moderates” “centrists,” or “middle of the roaders”

Week 3 Is Canada a Meritocracy? - Canada is often described as a “land of opportunity” - Or at least a meritocracy: A nation where the best person can rise to the top in any situation, despite his or her antecedents - But do all Canadians have an opportunity for success? Wealth and Poverty in Global Perspective - Global Stratification - The unequal distribution of wealth on a global basis - Wealth - Value of individual’s or family’s economic assets - Is calculated on the basis of the value of property and financial assets. Minus debts owes - Those at the top own the most wealth in the U.S. - Life chances - Extent to which individuals have access to important societal resources - High income nations - Countries with highly industrialized economies - High levels of national and per capita (per person) income - Middle income nations - Undergoing transformation from agrarian to industrial economies - Low income nations - Agrarian countries; little industrialization - Low levels of national and personal income - Absolute poverty - No means to secure the most basic necessities of life - Relative poverty - Afford basic necessities such as food, clothing, and shelter - Can not maintain an average standard of living Analyzing Inequality in Canada - Social stratification - Is the hierarchical arrangement of large social groups on the basis of their control over basic resources - How are social classes determined in Canada? - Power - Ability to achieve goals despite opposition from others

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Prestige - Respect, esteem, or regard accorded to an individual or group by others

Social Stratification - Creation of layers of people who possess unequal shares of scarce resources - Most important of these resources are - Income - Wealth - Power - Prestige - How is social stratification related to social class? - Each layer in a stratification system is a social class Divisions in the Canadian Class Structure - Upper class, or capitalist class = Wealthiest and most powerful class - Upper-middle class = Professionals - Middle class = white-collar office workers, middle management personnel, teachers - Working class = factory and other industrial workers, service industries - Working poor class = Working people with income near or below the poverty line - Chronically poor = Working age people who are unemployed or outside the labor force Analyzing Inequality in Canada - Wealth vs Income Inequality - Extreme wealth = richest people in the world - Income = economic gain derived from wages, salaries, government assistance or ownership of property - Income gap - In U.S. and Canada the gap is wide - The Canadian Lower Class: - The working (unskilled and low-paid service workers) poor and chronically poor or the lowest quintile of income distributions - They receive about 5% of overall income but incomes vary over time Measuring Poverty - Low income measure: half the median family income (adjusted for family size) - Low income cut off: below which a family would spend 50+% of income on food, clothing, and shelter (adjusted for size and location) - Market basket measure: income necessary to buy a basket of food, clothing, shelter, transportation and other basic needs Consequences of Poverty: - Health and nutrition - Housing

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Education

How Canada deals with poverty - Government funds programs like Employment Insurance (EI) (now running a surplus) and Income Assistance (IA), but it is increasing difficult to qualify for EI - Governments fund shelters and food banks - Welfare state: a nation in which government intervenes in the welfare of its citizens through various policies, programs, standards, and regulations Explanations for Poverty - Blaming the victim - View a social problem as emanating from within the individual who exhibits the problem - Cultural capital - Social assets such as the values, beliefs, attitudes, and competencies in language and culture that are learned at home and required for success and social advancement - Structural explanations of poverty - Focus on the macrolevel - The level of social organization that is beyond an individual’s ability to chance - Side effect of the capitalist system: The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer or remain about the same Is there a solution to Poverty? - Functionalist/Conservative Solutions - Poverty will always be a part of society - Strengthening out major social institutions - Conflict Theories - Federal and state governments must play a larger role by enacting and implementing social policies that stimulate the economy, create new jobs, and provide workers with living wage - Feminization of Poverty - Symbolic Interactionist Solutions - Labeling and stigmatization may affect individuals living in poverty - Social change must occur at both the microlevel and the macrolevel - Allow people living in poverty help in changing the situations

Can Poverty be Reduced? - Those who give individualistic and cultural explanations suggest individualists and cultural solutions like better work habits and job training, but other solutions are possible

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The plans outlined here may not solve the problem of poverty, but they may reduce the price the poor pay for living in the “land of opportunity” Proposals for poverty reduction solutions should have: - Targets and timelines - Accountability - Comprehensiveness - Focus and marginalized groups, and - Community involvement

Week 4 Gender inequality and socialization - All agents e.g. parents, peers, schools, and media, of socialization are important, but peers and media will be stressed - Peers, groups linked by interests and age, play an important role in career and partner choice. They have also played a role in misogynistic attacks, e.g. Dalhousie University dental students and many fraternities Gender inequality as a social problem - Sex: Biological, physiological, hormonal and chromosomal differences of males, females and intersexed people - Gender: refers to the socially constructed sets of attitudes that dictate what behaviours, thoughts, and emotions are appropriate for each sex - Intersexed: having unrecognizable genitalia or both male and female genitalia - Androcentricity: putting males at the centre Biological and social bases for gender roles Social basis for gender roles: - Gender Ideology: ideas of masculinity and femininity that are held to be valid in a particular society and time it is reflected in the.. - Gender division of labour: the process whereby productive tasks are separated on the basis of gender Shopping for Girls - The abundance of pink makes it clear that this toy aisle in geared towards girls. Note the emphasis on dolls and fantasy characters in these toys offerings

Gender Inequality and socialization - Gender Socialization by parents - Peers and Gender Socialization - Education and Gender Socialization

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Gender Bias - a situation in which favoritism is shown toward one gender Sports and Gender Socialization Media

Media - Media: TV, Internet, Magazines, billboards, etc - Underrepresented women, and overrepresent males - Reinforce stereotypical ideas: - 1. Women and physical attractiveness and passivity - 2. Men and competence and independence, except in domestic labour where they appear as buffoon - Portrayal of male-female relationships along traditional lines that could normalize violence against women - Do they reflect or shape ideas about gender roles? - Male characters act differently from female ones - Male characters act aggressively and female characters manipulate them - Music videos condon harassment of and discrimination against women showing women satisfying men’s sexual fantasies or being punished for not doing so - Fantasy world of music objectifies and dehumanizes women, making them at risk for violence by reinforcing a.. - Rape Culture: the pervaive system of cultural values, attitudes, and practices that support and perpetuate sexualized violence against women - But choices people make are not only due to socialization but also social structure Contemporary Gender Inequality Is maintained by: - Individual sexism: anti-female prejudice and stereotypical beliefs by individuals - Institutionalized sexism: discrimination engaged in at the organization level Five structural forms that contribute to inequality: 1. Gendered division of paid work - Intersectionality: multiple jeopardy, e.g. women who are racialized or disabled can be additionally disadvantaged 2. Wage gap: disparity between women’s and men’s earnings. While high in the 1980’s and earlier, it has declined to 19% in 2010. The wage gap has declined in some areas more than others and is less for younger workers 3. Sexual harassment: intention...