PART I: WHAT IS A SOCIAL

PROBLEM?

PART II: WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY?

SOCIAL PROBLEMS DEFINED Social Problem: a social condition that has

negative consequences for individuals, our social world, or our physical world The “objective” reality of a social problem: some

aspects of a social problem can be proven by the collection of data. E.g. The Center for Disease Control released that by

the end of 2003, 1.2 million Americans were living with HIV/AIDS

It is not necessary for you to have contracted HIV to understand that it is a problem

The “subjective” reality of a social problem: all social problems must be defined as problematic E.g. Is war necessary or is it a social problem? The

answer depends on your outlook on the world

DEFINING A SOCIAL PROBLEM “Social Constructionism” (Berger & Luckmann,

1966): our world is a social creation, created from our everyday thoughts and actions. For example, although there is the “objective”

problem of 1.2 million Americans living with HIV/AIDS, some people may not consider it a problem: some would argue that HIV only affects IV drug users and the sexually promiscuous so it should not count as a social problem; some may argue that medical advances mean it is no longer a social problem

Conditions that harm people may exist, but they are not social problems until humans categorize them as troublesome and in need of a solution

SOLUTIONS ARE SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED TOO! Homelessness can be seen as a problem

by people who are not sympathetic to the problemE.g. Many people blame homeless people

themselves for the homeless epidemic; this ignores more structural problems like the lack of a living wage or affordable housing

The construction of social problems and solutions has to do with power

QUESTION TO ASK OF ANY SOCIAL PROBLEM: For whom is it a problem? Who says it is a problem? (Who has the

power to say so?) Why is it a social problem (as opposed

to a personal problem for a large number of people)?

When does a private concern become a social problem?

What alternative solutions exist? Who decides what solution is adopted or

tried?

THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

1. Seeing the general in the particular: social forces shape our lives in unseen yet significant ways

2. Seeing the Strange in the Familiar: questioning everyday assumptions

3. Seeing Personal Choice in Social Context: seeing what social forces caused individual behavior and how individual behavior is patterned

4. Marginality & Crisis: being an outsider enhances sociological thinking

5. Seeing How Relationships are Shaped by Power: how systems grant rewards and punishments and how some individuals reap benefits they may not even know about

THE SOCIOLOGICAL ANGLE: THE FOREST FOR THE TREES

THE SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION[C. WRIGHT MILLS] a sociological imagination: a way of

thinking that helps link our personal lives to the social world. It means you have to see what can not be seen

in front of your eyes. It means that you have to be able to creatively

imagine the connections between events which give birth to current social life

Individual Trouble: a problem that is experienced by the individual

Social Issue: a patterned social problem that has wide-reaching effects E.g. unemployment

ONE MAN’S POVERTY(USING A SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION)

SOCIAL THEORIES FOR SOCIAL PROBLEMS Functional-Structuralism examines the

functions (or consequences) of the structure of society Basic Belief: Society is made up of inter-related

parts that depend on one another to maintain order in society

Society is the product of the agreed upon norms and values of its individuals.

Society is like a puzzle – each individual must play by the rules so that society can function

Functionalists on social problems: social problems are actually functional or they would not exist. Functionalists might ask, what purpose does a social problem serve?

SOCIAL THEORIES FOR SOCIAL PROBLEMS Conflict theorists: examine how

society is held together by power relations and how people in power coerce those without power to maintain the systemBasic Belief: Society is characterized by

social inequalitySociety is defined by people’s struggle to

secure scarce resources Conflict theorists on social problems:

social problems exist because people with power make life difficult for those without social power; they are also interested in how people with power can define something as a social problem

SOCIAL THEORIES FOR SOCIAL PROBLEMS Symbolic Interactionists: focus on how we

use language, words, and symbols to create and maintain our social reality Basic Belief: Society is the sum of the interactions of

people and groups; it is a micro theory Human beings act in accordance with how they believe

they are expected to act; we learn behavior expectations through interaction with others

Symbolic Interactionists on social problems: 1. We learn behavior from others (e.g. no one is

born a “juvenile delinquent”, but learns how to behave like one)

2. The language we use to define a social problem m (E.g. national healthcare or socialized medicine? “Pro-choice” or “pro-abortion”?)