Todays Social Issues

Covering everything from abortion to gun control to immigration, this book explains policies and positions of today's Democratic and Republican parties, giving readers a complete understanding of modern-day American politics and the 2016 presidential race. This book cuts through rhetorical platitudes and partisan distortions to provide a balanced and up-to-date resource for understanding policy debates on social issues in statehouses around the country as well as in Washington, DC. It provides broad coverage of the parties and the forces that affect each party's positions, examining every major social policy and taking into account historical differences between Democrats and Republicans in an evenhanded manner, with emphasis on the key ideologies that set the two parties apart during the 2008–2014 midterms. Author Timothy Kneeland presents an in-depth study of the diversity of political opinion on today's most pressing social issues, digging deeper than the typical black-or-white presentation of these debates in the media. Readers will gain a detailed understanding of how the parties agree, disagree, and find compromise on the broad range of problems and issues facing American society in the 21st century.

Covering everything from abortion to gun control to immigration, this book explains policies and positions of today's Democratic and Republican parties, giving readers a complete understanding of modern-day American politics and the 2016 presidential race. This book cuts through rhetorical platitudes and partisan distortions to provide a balanced and up-to-date resource for understanding policy debates on social issues in statehouses around the country as well as in Washington, DC. It provides broad coverage of the parties and the forces that affect each party's positions, examining every major social policy and taking into account historical differences between Democrats and Republicans in an evenhanded manner, with emphasis on the key ideologies that set the two parties apart during the 2008–2014 midterms. Author Timothy Kneeland presents an in-depth study of the diversity of political opinion on today's most pressing social issues, digging deeper than the typical black-or-white presentation of these debates in the media. Readers will gain a detailed understanding of how the parties agree, disagree, and find compromise on the broad range of problems and issues facing American society in the 21st century.

In spite of the double burden of racial and gender discrimination, African-American women have developed a rich intellectual tradition that is not widely known. In Black Feminist Thought, Patricia Hill Collins explores the words and ideas of Black feminist intellectuals as well as those African-American women outside academe. She provides an interpretive framework for the work of such prominent Black feminist thinkers as Angela Davis, bell hooks, Alice Walker, and Audre Lorde. The result is a superbly crafted book that provides the first synthetic overview of Black feminist thought.

Seeing Social Problems: Readings on Contemporary Issues in the United States provides students with engaging, thought-provoking articles that examine a wide array of current social issues, the types of behaviors that perpetuate such problems, and how these issues affect the daily lives of Americans. Students are invited to critically consider how key issues have evolved and changed over time and to devise new ways for society to improve, both as people and as a nation.

The New York Times bestselling work of undercover reportage from our sharpest and most original social critic, with a new foreword by Matthew Desmond, author of Evicted Millions of Americans work full time, year round, for poverty-level wages. In 1998, Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them. She was inspired in part by the rhetoric surrounding welfare reform, which promised that a job—any job—can be the ticket to a better life. But how does anyone survive, let alone prosper, on $6 an hour? To find out, Ehrenreich left her home, took the cheapest lodgings she could find, and accepted whatever jobs she was offered. Moving from Florida to Maine to Minnesota, she worked as a waitress, a hotel maid, a cleaning woman, a nursing-home aide, and a Wal-Mart sales clerk. She lived in trailer parks and crumbling residential motels. Very quickly, she discovered that no job is truly "unskilled," that even the lowliest occupations require exhausting mental and muscular effort. She also learned that one job is not enough; you need at least two if you int to live indoors. Nickel and Dimed reveals low-rent America in all its tenacity, anxiety, and surprising generosity—a land of Big Boxes, fast food, and a thousand desperate stratagems for survival. Read it for the smoldering clarity of Ehrenreich's perspective and for a rare view of how "prosperity" looks from the bottom. And now, in a new foreword, Matthew Desmond, author of Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, explains why, twenty years on in America, Nickel and Dimed is more relevant than ever.

Organization is a key strength of this best-selling introduction to social problems. The book opens with an overview of the sociological tools and perspectives that are used in the study of social problems. It then lays a solid foundation by discussing fundamental changes and problems in the four basic social institutions, the economy, government, education, and family, before examining more specific topics, such as health care and poverty. The writing is clear, direct, and reinforced with high-impact, full-color graphics throughout. This edition has been updated to include two new features: "Signs of Hope" boxes, which help promote a positive outlook on today's social problems, and "Personal Perspectives" boxes, which present personal accounts of individuals' own experiences with particular social problems.

With historical and multicultural sensitivity, this best-selling book probes the nature and causes of the major social changes confronting today's citizens. Using the latest research, current statistics, examples, charts, and tables, it delves into the social control and action issues inherent to each problem in a clear, easy-to-read format. Balancing viewpoints and supporting material with research and policy, the book covers topics in a micro-to-macro format, pointing out the interrelationships among today's social problems and approaching them from several perspectives. The first few chapters focus on individual behaviors such as drug use and crime. The middle chapters deal with inequality and discrimination, discussing such topics as poverty, prejudice, sexism, ageism, family life, and work. The final chapters discuss the problems of cities, environmental pollution, and war and terrorism: matters of global significance. Because the nature of the United States is changing, with health and health care crises, military invasions, economic downturn, shrinking public budgets and rising fiscal deficits, and environmental issues, this book becomes a necessary read for members of the medical profession that confront the tragedy of AIDS, law enforcement professionals who cope with crime and violence, elected officials and other political leaders who are expected to formulate sound social policies to address social problems, and citizens who wish to learn more about the social problems that are pervasive in our lives.

The collapse of the Christian worldview in America and the West is happening, to the utter shock of Christians. Why? They’ve been blind to the enemy’s stealth attack on biblical history and authority, which has led multiple generations to abandon God’s Word as their foundation. When our culture asks the questions dealt with in this book — and our kids parrot these questions and ideas heard from schools, libraries, movies, books, music, YouTube, social media, etc. — it must be remembered they’re not innocent, unintentional questions. They stem fundamentally from a rejection of biblical authority. Quick Answers to Social Issues provides answers for some of the toughest questions of the day regarding: Marriage and sexuality from God’s Word Response to the LGBTQ+ community Animal rights and the green movement The biblical response to racism It’s imperative that Christians be ready to give answers to today’s questions! Thus, the passion and purpose of this book is to equip you with clear, concise biblical answers to effectively stand on God’s Word and boldly proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ on the frontlines of today’s battle!

This landmark reference work is a comprehensive, one-stop interdisciplinary resource that examines important, current social issues in global and historical perspective. Approximately 140 in-depth, balanced text entries cover a broad range of critical topics pertaining to the natural environment, health, energy, science, the media, ethnic conflict, poverty, labor, justice, individual rights, family, gender, and immigration, to name just a few. Each original, signed article provides historical context as well as a thorough discussion and analysis of a contemporary issue in today's interconnected global society. Articles also include essential primary documents, as well as extensive further reading lists, Web sites of notable institutions and organizations, statistical data, and photographs. In all, Global Social Issues provides essential, objective information that enables students to understand and evaluate the major challenges facing human society worldwide and to foster awareness and critical thinking as "global citizens" of the 21st century. --