With an engaging writing style that has made it a popular choice at both 2 and 4-year schools, the Second Edition of Anna Leon-Guerrero’s Social Problems textbook humanizes social problems and addresses their consequences while emphasizing community awareness and action. The text focuses on inequalities, examining how race and ethnicity, gender, social class, sexual orientation, and age determine our life chances. Each chapter includes a discussion of relevant social policies or programs and highlights how individuals or groups have made a difference in their communities. Although the book looks primarily at the United States, global perspectives are interwoven where appropriate. Pedagogical features and a companion study site provide a platform for discussion that encourages critical thinking about the problems presented.

Contemporary Readings in Social Problems includes a broad range of topics from different perspectives and encourages students to explore complex social issues. The many esteemed articles included in this collection have been carefully selected and edited to make them more accessible to undergraduate students.

Introducing students to original writings on major topics in social problems, this reader brings real-world examples into courses covering social problems and is sure to spark interesting class discussion.

Key Features

• Focuses on teaching both theory and application, providing a more contemporary view of social problems and integrating a global perspective
• Presents in-depth material in a clear and concise collection of well-edited, accessible articles
• Includes unique pedagogy, featuring a detailed table of contents with article abstracts; a topic guide to help instructors better integrate the material into their courses; article introductions written by the Editor; discussion questions for each article; and a detailed list of internet links for further exploration
• Provides a value-priced selection of 32 outstanding readings