Social Problems: Readings with Four Questions

A unique and groundbreaking collection of 54 articles organized in 11 thematic sections, SOCIAL PROBLEMS: READINGS WITH FOUR QUESTIONS 2e takes a structural/conflict approach yet lets the voices of those impacted by social problems be heard. The articles are a mix of classic and contemporary readings, covering a wide range of issues in the United States and the world. The introductory article, written by Joel Charon, focuses on four questions that students are urged to apply throughout the reader: What is the problem? What makes the problem a "social problem"? What causes the problem? What can be done? This four questions approach gives students a consistent sociological framework within which to analyze social problems. The articles have been painstakingly selected to hold student interest, highlight contemporary social problems, and help professors show students how to think sociologically about the social problems around us.

Joel M. Charon is a successful author and a professor of sociology at Moorhead State University in Minnesota. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. He has published numerous textbooks and readers, and TEN QUESTIONS: A SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE has gone through three editions. He is a member of the ASA and the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction.

Lee G. Vigilant is a professor at Minnesota State University at Moorhead. He received his Ph.D. from Boston College (1995).