Discussion of Social Problems

1
Discussion of Social Problems

• A rough breakdown of sociology students sense of
  social problems is in the Table
• Not surprising is the increase in terrorism
• How do things get defined as social problems?
• The interrelation of social problems
• Each of these seems to reinforce the others.
• Creating a dynamic of positive feedback.

2
Sociological Approaches  

• Human behavior is socially determined insofar as
  it is socially shaped.
• The Chicago School showed that different
  neighborhoods had very different rates of crime,
  addiction, juvenile delinquency, illegitimacy,
  academic failure, etc.
• This demonstrated that some kind of lawful
  process was operating which can be understood
  scientifically.
• People may be "choosing" to engage in those
  actions, but it is not an unconstrained, free
  choice.
• You do not usually need to know which persons
  will engage in an act in order to understand and
  predict rates.
• Something about some neighborhoods led to higher
  rates of pathology there.

3
Implications of different rates

• The different rates highlighted the basic insight
  of sociology, that human behavior is socially
  shaped.
• The high rates were not the result of biology,
  because even when all the people died or when the
  whole composition of the area changed, the rates
  remained the same.
• Chicago theorists argued that they resulted from
  the social structure

4
Explanations of different rates

• There were two main kinds of explanations of what
  was the social structural problem.  
• Functionalist sociologists mainly explained the
  rates in terms of the norms and values embedded
  in churches, families, schools or gangs.
• I.e. the people in different neighborhoods were
  being socialized into different subcultures
• Migration various groups experienced similar
  disruption of families and loss of traditions.
• Conflict theorists explained them in terms of
  class and the different life chances built into
  the class structure.
• I.e. different rents and housing costs sort
  people by class,
• and the different resources of different groups
  produce different life chances and subcultures.
• The third perspective, the Interactionist
  perspective, operates at the individual
  level.          

5
Functional/Conflict Perspectives

• Functionalists see social institutions as
  connected like organs in a body.
• Def (p.23) An approach that focuses on how
  social parts contribute to society as a system.
• Image façade of the Alamo
• Examples Emile Durkheim (Parsons, Smelser)
• Conflict theorists see different groups as having
  different interests.
• Def. (p.26) focuses on conflict in society.
• Image the back of the façade
• Example Karl Marx (JoeFeagin, Massey, Reskin)

6
Functional and Conflict accounts of the most
serious social problem

• Functional Its breakdown of families and morals,
  producing crime, etc.
• Conflict its poverty and slums brutal
  conditions are brutalizing.

Educational failure
Weakening of families and morals
Gangs, drugs, crime.
Poverty
Poverty
Weakening of families
Gangs, drugs, crime.
7
Chicago theorists argued that the rates resulted
from the structure

• This demonstrated some kind of lawful process
  which can be understood scientifically.
• People may be "choosing" to engage in those
  actions, but it is a constrained choice.
• Something about some neighborhoods led to higher
  rates of pathology there.
• Chicago theorists also argued that socially
  produced problems could be socially changed.

8
The major sources of crime and delinquency in
Chicago

• Neighborhoods had high rates when
• 1) They were poor
• 2) ethnically or racially fractionalized
• 3) mobile with few stable families and
  institutions.
• But these could be understood either sub
  culturally (Functional) or as class and group
  conflict and competition (Conflict Theory).

9
A Systemic model of Functions

• Society is a control system.
• Norms, socialized in families are the controls.
• E.g. Durkheims theory of crime and punishment
• Crime is functional in that enforcement is one
  of the main ways the rules are defined.

CRIME
PUNISHMENT
-
10
A Systemic model of conflict the vicious cycle

• Society is a game of Monopoly
• Resources aid in getting access to more
  resources the rich get richer.
• But also education, health care, skills,
  contacts, family, drug-free, crime-free,
  gang-free environments, etc.

PROPERTIES
RENTS

11
Vicious Cycle Feedbacks and Native Americans

• There were about 30million Native Americans on
  North America when the Europeans arrived.
• There were about 300,000 in 1900
• For centuries the only good Indian is a dead
  Indian and both formal policy and individual
  actions accomplished that.
• But Europeans did not get off the boats and start
  shooting.
• Loss of land, poverty, marginalization, broken
  families, alcoholism, smallpox, tribal wars,
  social breakdown all reinforced racism which
  reinforced these conditions.

12
Functionalism in sociology e.g. E. Durkheim
(1858-1916)    

• Durkheim is discussed in most chapters of
  Sociology, Micro, Macro and Mega
• Functionalism appears in all chapters
• Functionalism believes that the society is an
  organic system
• Fundamental concepts function, social
  integration norms normative integration.

13
Durkheims most important empirical study Suicide

• The prediction and explanation of suicide.
• Seeing the forest for the trees rates are social
  facts p.24.
• Suicide rates are social facts.
• Durkheim argued that social facts must be
  explained by other social facts.

14
How much suicide is there?

• In the US predictably more than 30,000 people
  kill themselves every year.
• Surgeon General's Report.
• This compares to about 19,000 homicides.
• These rates are stable and predictable. What
  causes them?

15
The concept of egoistic suicide

• Some groups have consistently higher rates.
• Rates Questions.
• The concept of egoistic suicide p.25.
• Were the suicide bombers social isolates?
• Was Cesar or Garfield a social isolate?

16
Basic idea of egoistic suicide lack of social
integration.

• Lack of social ties, leaves someone uncontrolled
  free to engage in deviance.
• Applications to other behaviors
• Academic failure
• Crime.
• 187.
• Age effects on suicide adolescent peak and
  elderly
• Contrasts between Durkheim and an individualist
  explanation Re morals.

17
Class on Thursday 9/5

• Due to St Thomas of Villanova Day, classes meet
  for shorter periods at different times.
• 1000-16 instead of 100 meets 1130
• 1000-13 instead of 230 meets 1230
• 1000-14 instead of 400 can meet either of the
  previous times or 515 Falvey viewing room 3