In editing this book, one of our primary concerns was to assist students in developing a structural analysis of the serious social problems they repeatedly hear about on television, in political campaigns, and in newspapers, and more importantly, that some may experience in their everyday lives. We wanted to help them see the personal as political, so that they could critically evaluate the structural causes of these problems and, in turn, begin to conceive of structural or collective actions to solve them. Consequently, readers will find in the chapter introductions in this book and in the readings themselves a strong critical or conflict orientation, with an emphasis on he roles of particular social institutions and normative policies and procedures in the generation and perpetuation of social problems. In addition, a major theme of the text is the global reach of social problems.

(Description from Google Books)