Seeing Social Problems: The Hidden Stories Behind Contemporary Issues

Seeing Social Problems: The Hidden Stories Behind Contemporary Issues shows students how to think about social problems in a new way, by carefully analyzing headline-making issues they are already familiar with and illustrating the connection between individual problems and larger social forces. Each chapter engages students in thinking about the world sociologically by focusing on a specific case study that represents a more general social problem. The chapters always start with the knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and personal experiences that students bring to the case―what author Ira Silver refers to as the conventional wisdom―and effectively demonstrate to them the "first wisdom" of sociology: "things are not what they seem." In each instance, Silver shows how sociologists ask questions, gather empirical data, use multiple perspectives, and consider larger social forces to discover the "hidden stories" behind individual behavior.


Included with this title:

The password-protected Instructor Resource Site (formally known as SAGE Edge) offers access to all text-specific resources, including a test bank and editable, chapter-specific PowerPoint® slides.

Ira Silver is Professor of Sociology at Framingham State University, where he has taught since 2002. He also teaches during the summer at Wellesley College. He received his B.A. summa cum laude from Amherst College and his Masters and Ph.D. in sociology from Northwestern University.

In addition to teaching Social Problems, Ira’s courses include: Nonprofit Giving; Death & Dying; Animals & Society; Society, Technology & the Future; Sport in Society; and Issues & Influences in Education.

 Ira has authored or edited four previous books. Giving Hope: How You Can Restore the American Dream (CreateSpace, 2013) is a guide for charitable giving that addresses the opportunity divide in the U.S. Social Problems: Readings (Norton, 2008) is a collection of essays about contemporary issues. Academic Street Smarts: Informal Professionalization of Graduate Students in Sociology (American Sociological Association, 2008) is a collection of essay that provides tips for career success in the field.Unequal Partnerships: Beyond the Rhetoric of Philanthropic Collaboration (Routledge, 2006) is a study of power relations between grantors and grantees.