Social Problems and Social Action

Catalog description

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to important social and political problems and policies from a cross-societal perspective. The fundamental questions ask about the origins of social problems and policies that are developed to solve them. The course focuses on the social construction of social problems, and on the role played by the power elites, social experts, media and social movements in the process of that construction. The strengths and weaknesses of governmental programs and regulations and of market-based solutions of these problems also are discussed. The role of volunteerism and philanthropy is analyzed, and so are the unanticipated consequences of politically motivated reforms.