The Study of Social Problems: Seven Perspectives

Now in its seventh edition, The Study of Social Problems uses seven sociological perspectives--social pathology, social disorganization, value conflict, deviant behavior, labeling, the critical perspective, and social constructionism--to examine social problems. Focusing on theory, this critically acclaimed anthology distinguishes itself from other texts, which are organized topically. Each section opens with an overview of the perspective's major contributors, its history, and its main characteristics and closes with a critique of the perspective and questions for discussion. Thirty-six readings drawn from a wide range of primary sources illustrate and expand upon the key elements of each approach.

The seventh edition features updated textual material, readings, and annotated references. Ten new contemporary selections cover the pathology of everyday life; sexual education and value conflict; self-injury and differential association; the stigma of charity; attacks on labeling theory; capitalism and the problems of class, race, and gender; state-corporate crime; changing constructions of rape; immigration; and terrorism as a social problem.

Long a standard in its field, The Study of Social Problems, Seventh Edition, is an affordable, comprehensive, and indispensable volume for social problems courses.

ER is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Northeastern University. MW is Professor of Sociology at Indiana University. His research has focused on a variety of topics including models of female sexuality, foot fetishism, intersexuality, sadomasochism, sex work, and bisexuality. Recent work has focused specifically on the social and interpretive worlds of men who have sex with animals.