Sociology 211
Social Problems
Presession 2002
Dr. Scott Schaffer

Week 2 Discussion Questions: SPSS chs.15-27, 29-35 (pp. 142-279, 288-378)

1. Conceptual. Define the following concepts as they are used by the authors. For each concept, be sure to identify a) the author who discussed it, b) the definition, c) the importance the concept has for the development of the author's argument or for the study of social problems, and d) any concepts you think are related to that concept and how they're related. (Starred concepts may appear in the texts but are elaborated on in class.)

Job availability and welfare reform

"Connections"

* Surplus labor pool

Rationalization of labor

"McDonaldization of society"

Maquiladora revolution (maquilazation)

Division of labor

"Ladder theory" of development

Trade preferences

Accessibility to "public goods"

* Social prioritization

"Rational choice"

* Ideology Tensions between work and care-giving

Public vs. private responsibilities

* Individualism vs. Collectivism

Role concordance

Stigmatization

2. Public duties vs. private rights. One of the problems posed by the study of social problems is dealing with the "public/private" divide - the tension between rights (things we are owed) and duties (things we owe others). Identify the concepts of "rights" and "duties" (or public vs. private) involved in the social problems we're studying this week (work, health care and old age), as well as how they intersect with the levels of analysis. To what extent do any tensions between the two make understanding these social problems more difficult?

3. Ideology and social problems. One important aspect of how we understand and deal with social problems is the issue of ideology - a unified, coherent set of ideas that reproduces and legitimates a social order. For each of the social problems we're discussing this week, identify the ways in which ideology clouds our ability to understand the nature and causes of these social problems. To what extent does ideology problematize the development of solutions to social problems?

4. Individual responsibility and solving social problems. Each social problem we've studied so far in class can be understood as the result of individual actions (and/or inactions). To what extent can we think about the position of individuals with regard to these social problems; in other words, how important are understanding individuals and their everyday lives for understanding how social problems continue? To what extent do you think that changes in individual actions can yield solutions to social problems, and why?

5. Perceptions of other societies and social problems. Using the readings we've done for this section of the course, discuss the following questions: How do other societies perceive America, its social problems, and the ways in which we deal with them? To what extent do you think we should take into account the perceptions of other societies in the ways in which we deal with our social problems, and why? To what extent do you think we should involve ourselves in the ways that other societies deal with their social problems, and why?