Conflicting Interests

Featuring twenty-six in-depth and engaging articles, Conflicting Interests: Readings in Social Problems and Inequality is a unique social problems reader in which the majority of the selections reflect the conflict perspective. This approach views social problems as the consequence of social and economic inequalities and therefore encourages students to critically analyze American public policy responses to social problems. Conflicting Interests is organized into five sections: Thinking about Social Problems, The Economics of Inequality, Social Inequalities, Problems of the Family, Crime and Drugs, and Problems of the Environment. Several articles address the contemporary economic crisis and the role that the media plays in constructing social problems. In addition, many of the essays describe public policies in countries outside of the United States, providing students with alternative, cross-culturalperspectives and solutions to social problems. Each section begins with an introduction that briefly summarizes the articles and shows how they are interrelated. Each essay concludes with critical thinking questions that are designed to stimulate class discussion and to help students carefully evaluate theissues. A thought-provoking and accessible supplement for social problems courses, Conflicting Interests can also be used in courses on inequality or social stratification. It is an ideal supplement to editor Robert Heiner's textbook, Social Problems: An Introduction to Critical Constructionism, Third Edition.

The primary strength [of this book] is the focus on a critical constructionist approach. This sets this text apart from the wide body of work that already exists. Furthermore, this perspective seems to strike an important cord in students, and once they begin to grasp the underpinnings of this paradigm, it dramatically alters the way in which they view the world around them. This approach is also most effective at enabling faculty to teach critical thinking skills, which is something that I am constantly striving to do., I've been waiting for Robert Heiner to put together a book like this for a long time. I've used his Social Problems: An Introduction to Critical Constructionism many times in my courses, always with good effect. I would most definitely adopt this reader., This is an exciting idea. The articles chosen work beautifully together to give the reader an excellent overview of the constructionist/conflict approach to social problems. I will adopt this reader as soon as it is available.