Social Problems: A Down-To-Earth Approach, Tenth Edition by James M. Henslin ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Chapter 1 How Sociologists View Social Problems: The Abortion Dilemma

Social Problems: A Down-To-Earth Approach, Tenth Edition by James M. Henslin ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved The Sociological Imagination Sociological Imagination (C. Wright Mills): Looking at people’s behavior and attitudes in the context of the social forces that shape them.  Changes in society  Connecting personal troubles and public issues  Not Using Sociological Imagination Personal Troubles  large-scale events of history bring trouble to people’s lives.  Applying Sociological Imagination

Social Problems: A Down-To-Earth Approach, Tenth Edition by James M. Henslin ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Social context shapes the way we look at life on three levels 1)Broad Social Context 2)Narrow Social Context 3)Intimate Social Context The Sociological Imagination

Social Problems: A Down-To-Earth Approach, Tenth Edition by James M. Henslin ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Social Location The process of becoming aware of ourselves by evaluating our own identity in relation to other people. Life experiences and opportunities Exposure to different experiences & influences See Table 1.1

Social Problems: A Down-To-Earth Approach, Tenth Edition by James M. Henslin ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Table 1.1a Continued on next slide

Social Problems: A Down-To-Earth Approach, Tenth Edition by James M. Henslin ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Table 1.1b

Social Problems: A Down-To-Earth Approach, Tenth Edition by James M. Henslin ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved What is a Social Problem? Social Problem: Some aspect of society that people are concerned about and would like changed. Examples of Social Problems:  Crime  Poverty  Sexual abuse  Domestic violence  War  Racism

Social Problems: A Down-To-Earth Approach, Tenth Edition by James M. Henslin ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Elements of a Social Problem Objective Condition  Measured  Experienced Subjective Concern  Concern about the social problem  Both sides of the issue  Dyanmic—Change in societies will cause a change in opinions and concerns  Relative—Culturally influenced Competing Views

Social Problems: A Down-To-Earth Approach, Tenth Edition by James M. Henslin ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Objective & Subjective Concerns: Abortion before Roe vs. Wade (1973) Objective  Abortion was illegal. Subjective  Women who wanted them could not get them.  Untrained individuals performing abortions  Women died from botched, underground surgeries.

Social Problems: A Down-To-Earth Approach, Tenth Edition by James M. Henslin ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved The Natural History of Social Problems Four Stages: 1)Defining the problem 2)Crafting an official response 3)Reacting to the official response 4)Developing alternative strategies

Social Problems: A Down-To-Earth Approach, Tenth Edition by James M. Henslin ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved

Social Problems: A Down-To-Earth Approach, Tenth Edition by James M. Henslin ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Table 1.2

Social Problems: A Down-To-Earth Approach, Tenth Edition by James M. Henslin ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Webster v. Reproductive Services (1989) Casey v. Planned Parenthood (1992) FACE (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act) 1994 Gonzales v. Carhart (2007) RU486 Controversy No Middle Ground Controversy Continues: The Supreme Court After Roe v. Wade

Social Problems: A Down-To-Earth Approach, Tenth Edition by James M. Henslin ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved The Role of Sociology in Social Problems Tool for breaking through emotions and defenses Gaining an objective understanding of social problems:  Measure objective conditions  Measure subjective concerns  Applies the sociological imagination  Identifies different ways to intervene in a social problem  Evaluate likely consequences of social policies.

Social Problems: A Down-To-Earth Approach, Tenth Edition by James M. Henslin ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Sociology and Common Sense Common sense is not adequate for addressing social problems.  The grounds on which our common sense is built may be faulty.  More accurately, they aren’t always true.

Social Problems: A Down-To-Earth Approach, Tenth Edition by James M. Henslin ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Methods for Studying Social Problems Four basic research designs:  Case Studies  Surveys  Experiments  Field Studies Four methods for gathering information:  Interviews (Structured and Unstructured)  Questionnaire  Documents  Observation

Social Problems: A Down-To-Earth Approach, Tenth Edition by James M. Henslin ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Should Sociologists Take Sides? Problem of determining morality  Sociology is not equipped to make judgments about values and morality.  On going debate among Sociologists Should they report the facts and not take sides on the social issues that affect our society? But you have a moral obligation to take a stand! You should study facts only. You should not promote any particular policy or solution!

Social Problems: A Down-To-Earth Approach, Tenth Edition by James M. Henslin ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Uncovering Values To fully participate in a debate, one must be aware of the position taken by each side, any hidden agendas, and future policy suggestions. Whenever someone takes a position on a social problem and advocates one solution or another, values of some sort underlie that person’s views.

Social Problems: A Down-To-Earth Approach, Tenth Edition by James M. Henslin ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Taking Sides: Divisions and Agreement If sociologists want to take sides on any issue, they should do so as private citizens, not as sociologists. Debate keeps sociologists sensitive to the boundaries between objectivity and partisanship. Most sociologists attempt to resolve this dilemma by separating research evidence from their own values and opinions.

Social Problems: A Down-To-Earth Approach, Tenth Edition by James M. Henslin ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Table 1.3a Continued on next 2 slides.

Social Problems: A Down-To-Earth Approach, Tenth Edition by James M. Henslin ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Table 1.3b

Social Problems: A Down-To-Earth Approach, Tenth Edition by James M. Henslin ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Table 1.3c