Social Problems
Fourth Edition
20 November 2020
HIGHLY RELEVANT EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDIES BRING THE CONSTRUCTIONIST APPROACH TO LIFE
Joel Best connects social constructionist theory to the real world with highly relevant and timely end-of-chapter case studies and boxed examples. The boxes give students bite-sized examples of key concepts as they work through the chapter. All new end-of-chapter case studies then pull all the chapter’s concepts together and apply them to one extended example.
AN ENGAGING INTRODUCTION TO THE CONSTRUCTIONIST APPROACH TO SOCIAL PROBLEMS
Unlike traditional books for this course, Best’s Social Problems focuses on how and why certain conditions become cause for concern. Each chapter builds on the one that precedes it and collectively they reveal the path by which an issue transforms from a “claim” to a “social problem”.
AN EMPHASIS ON THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF RESOURCES AND RHETORIC IN THE SOCIAL PROBLEMS PROCESS
In every chapter Joel Best highlights how resources affect which claims get heard and ultimately succeed. He also shows the evolving interaction between claims and the rhetoric used to frame them.
SOCIAL PROBLEMS PROVIDES AN INTELLECTUAL TOOLKIT FOR ANALYSING ANY SOCIAL PROBLEM
Social Problems sharpens critical thinking skills by providing the tools students need to identify and evaluate social problem claims posited by the media, experts, politicians and activists. Best’s framework helps students consider how a problem is framed by its advocates and opponents, the logical strength of each group’s claims, the rhetoric of claimsmaking and how access to resources influences a group’s power to attract attention.
Joel Best connects social constructionist theory to the real world with highly relevant and timely end-of-chapter case studies and boxed examples. The boxes give students bite-sized examples of key concepts as they work through the chapter. All new end-of-chapter case studies then pull all the chapter’s concepts together and apply them to one extended example.
AN ENGAGING INTRODUCTION TO THE CONSTRUCTIONIST APPROACH TO SOCIAL PROBLEMS
Unlike traditional books for this course, Best’s Social Problems focuses on how and why certain conditions become cause for concern. Each chapter builds on the one that precedes it and collectively they reveal the path by which an issue transforms from a “claim” to a “social problem”.
AN EMPHASIS ON THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF RESOURCES AND RHETORIC IN THE SOCIAL PROBLEMS PROCESS
In every chapter Joel Best highlights how resources affect which claims get heard and ultimately succeed. He also shows the evolving interaction between claims and the rhetoric used to frame them.
SOCIAL PROBLEMS PROVIDES AN INTELLECTUAL TOOLKIT FOR ANALYSING ANY SOCIAL PROBLEM
Social Problems sharpens critical thinking skills by providing the tools students need to identify and evaluate social problem claims posited by the media, experts, politicians and activists. Best’s framework helps students consider how a problem is framed by its advocates and opponents, the logical strength of each group’s claims, the rhetoric of claimsmaking and how access to resources influences a group’s power to attract attention.
