Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches

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This course seeks to provide students with a general understanding of the form of collective action known as the social movement. Our task will be guided by the close examination of several twentieth century social movements in the United States. We will read about the U.S. civil rights, the unemployed workers’, welfare rights, pro-choice / pro-life and gay rights movements. We will compare and contrast certain of these movements with their counterparts in other countries. For all, we will identify the reasons for their successes and failures.

Social Problems: Continuity and Change is a realistic but motivating look at the many issues that are facing our society today. As this book’s subtitle, Continuity and Change, implies, social problems are persistent, but they have also improved in the past and can be improved in the present and future, provided that our nation has the wisdom and will to address them.

Social Problems: Continuity and Change is a textbook covering social problems, poverty, racial and ethnic inequality, gender and sexual diversity inequality, aging, substance abuse, crime, sexual behavior, family, schools and education, work and the economy, urban and rural problems, health and healthcare, population and the environment, war, and terrorism.

Social Problems: Continuity and Change is a realistic but motivating look at the many issues that are facing our society today. As this book’s subtitle, Continuity and Change, implies, social problems are persistent, but they have also improved in the past and can be improved in the present and future, provided that our nation has the wisdom and will to address them.

These texts have virtually the same content. Both books contain ADMJ content that could be useful for multiple courses (especially AJ160). Original publisher and author were requested to be removed. University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing adapted this resource.

Social Problems: Continuity and Change by Steve Barkan is a realistic but motivating look at the many issues that are facing our society today. As this book’s subtitle, Continuity and Change, implies, social problems are persistent, but they have also improved in the past and can be improved in the present and future, provided that our nation has the wisdom and will to address them.

It is easy for students to read a social problems textbook and come away feeling frustrated by the enormity of the many social problems facing us today. Social Problems: Continuity and Change certainly does not minimize the persistence of social problems, but neither does it overlook the possibilities for change offered by social research and by the activities of everyday citizens working to make a difference. Readers of Steve Barkan’s book will find many examples of how social problems have been improved and of strategies that hold great potential for solving them today and in the future.

You will find several pedagogical features help to convey the “continuity and change” theme of this text and the service sociology vision in which it is grounded: Each chapter begins with a “Social Problems in the News” story related to the social problem discussed in that chapter. These stories provide an interesting starting point for the chapter’s discussion and show its relevance for real-life issues. Three types of boxes in each chapter provide examples of how social problems have been changed and can be changed.

Every society faces problems that are more than just individual troubles. In this course we will use a sociological perspective to critically examine the bases of social inequality and the resultant problems in society. We will explore concerns related to families, education, the workplace, the media, poverty, crime, drug abuse, health issues, war and terrorism, the environment and global concerns. We will also look at social action and possible solutions to these problems through both individual and community efforts.

This course surveys canonical and recent theories and methods in science studies. We will organize our discussions around the concept of “reproduction,” referring variously to:

Scientific reproduction (how results are replicated in lab, field, disciplinary contexts)
Social reproduction (how social knowledge and relations are regenerated over time)
Biological reproduction (how organic substance is managed in the genetic age)
Electronic reproduction (how information is reassembled in techniques of transcription, simulation, computation).

Examining intersections and disruptions of these genres of reproduction, we seek to map relations among our social, biological, and electronic lives.

This subject presents a survey of social theory from the 17th century to the present. It focuses on the historical contexts out of which theory arises, the utility and limitations of older theories for present conditions, and the creation of new theory out of contemporary circumstances.

This course explores how social theories of urban life can be related to the city’s architecture and spaces. It is grounded in classic or foundational writings about the city addressing such topics as the public realm and public space, impersonality, crowds and density, surveillance and civility, imprinting time on space, spatial justice, and the segregation of difference. The aim of the course is to generate new ideas about the city by connecting the social and the physical, using Boston as a visual laboratory. Students are required to present a term paper mediating what is read with what has been observed.

These materials, created by Justine Terzinski in Spring 2024, feature a syllabus, lecture materials (PowerPoints), bibliographic references, assignment prompts, discussion questions, and links to library resources.

The topics covered in this course include: Family theory; Defining family; Children; Parenting; Culture; Gender influences; Trauma and families; Addiction and families; Building relationships; Supporting families; Resilience; Engagement and outcomes

These materials, created by Jennifer Schanen-Materi in Spring 2024, feature a syllabus, video lectures, bibliographic references, assignment prompts, discussion questions, and links to library resources.

The topics covered in this course include: Trauma and the Philosophy of Trauma-Informed Care (TIC); Trauma-Informed Practice at the Micro Level; Trauma-Informed Practice at the Systems Level; Secondary Trauma & Self-Care

Given the high prevalence of disability worldwide, the status of disabled people remains an area of concern for practitioners who seek to respectfully engage with a stigmatized and often oppressed population. The book encourages practitioners to draw on intersectionality theory, the critical cultural competence framework and anti-oppressive practice approaches to contend with the concerns facing disabled people today. These issues include parenting, mass incarceration, ableism, aging and employment, among others. This title acknowledges difference and multisystemic privilege and oppression while also drawing readers’ attention to the importance of solidarity and allyship when it comes to meaningful social work practice with and social change for disabled people.

This text is intended for use in introductory social work classes at the college level. Chapter topics include the foundations and history of social work and social welfare; generalist social work; ethics and values; social policy; race & ethnicity; sex, sexism, & gender; LGBTQ+ clients; poverty and financial assistance; school social work; families and children; healthcare and disabilities; substance use; mental health; criminal justice; and older clients. Mick Cullen, LCSW, CADC, MA, is a professor and chair of the social work/human services department at College of Lake County in Grayslake, Illinois. Matthew Cullen, LICSW, LCSW, M.Ed., is a counselor at Green River College in Auburn, Washington.

This is the first book on the intersection of the fields of social work, sociometry, and psychodrama. It provides an overview of integrated sociometry and psychodrama tools into practice. It also summarizes Moreno’s work on sociometry, psychodrama, and group psychotherapy Is an open access book

This course is a graduate reading seminar, in which historical and contemporary studies are used to explore the interaction of technology with social and political values. Emphasis is on how technological devices, structures, and systems influence the organization of society and the behavior of its members. Examples are drawn from the technologies of war, transportation, communication, production, and reproduction.

This is a 3-credit, 10-week course.

This course is intended to serve as an introduction to the emerging and evolving fields of the sociology and psychology of physical activity. This course considers the many specialized facets of these topics in a review fashion, and selected topics, owing to their significance and/or empirical basis, are covered in more depth. This course considers both historical and contemporary developments in exercise psychology and sociology, and examines the social and psychobiological predictors and health-related consequences of physical activity behaviors.

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