Domestic or international social problem

    Order Description     Choose a domestic or international social problem of your choice [see your reader, the newspapers, and/or the reference list at the end of this outline for some suggestions]. Here are some examples: AIDS/ HIV Gambling Mental Illness Human/ Sex trafficking Poverty Lack of health insurance Homelessness Crime Child/ Sexual Abuse Unwanted pregnancy/ children Delinquency Elder Abuse LGBTQ/ racial discrimination Hate crimes Alcohol/ Substance Abuse Income inequality Workplace hazards/abuse Hunger Disease Environmental illness Immigration/ legal and illegal Domestic Violence Unemployment   Describe the historical, theoretical and ideological contexts of social problems. 1) Question 1 requires the completion of a matrix (50 points) which will include two to three distinctly different periods in history [a row for each period] when the problem of your choice (re)emerged in society and was explained and addressed in some way. The matrix answers: • How was the problem constructed [framed] during each of these periods? • What claims were made and who was making them? • What prevailing social, economic and political forces were present at each period? • How was the problem explained [which theories/ explanations dominated]? • What policies or interventions were generated to address the problem during each of these periods? • What new problems did these policies generate? Period: Identify three or more periods in time in which major shifts occurred in the definitions of the problem you are writing about. 1.____ 2.____ 3.____ Typification: What was the dominant typification or name assigned to the problem during these 3 periods? 1.____ 2.____ 3.____ Were there variations in the typification for women of color, poor women, gay women, etc? Political, Social & Economic Context: What were the prevailing social, economic and political arrangements in society at the time? What social movements were occurring at each time? Ideological Explanations/ Theories: What were the prevailing ideological perspectives and/ or sociological/ psychological theories supporting these typifications? Where was the problem located? Claimsmakers Policy Activities: What individuals/ groups drew attention to this problem during each period? Were they Conservative, Liberal, Radical, Feminist? What (types of) actions did these claimsmakers take? Policy response: What types of policies emerged as a response to the (re)constructed definition? How was the problem addressed or not addressed at each time period? (Did the policy/ policies have a name?) New problems: What new problems arose out of each of these policies? Question 2 satisfies course objective 3: Identify the forces impeding social and economic justice for disadvantaged populations, [including women, the aged, the poor, children and youth, the disabled, homosexuals, etc.] 2) Class, status and diversity issues: During the different time periods, compare 1. How many people did the problem affect? 2.Define the population affected by the problem? How was the target population viewed/ constructed during varying times? What was their perceived status in society? Who was protected? Who was punished/ stigmatized? Answer either question 3 or 4, Chose the one that best related to the problem you selected. 3.Did racism, sexism, homophobia, ageism, etc. facilitate or hinder this problem from getting recognized? 4.Was the problem viewed/ defined the same way for rich and poor? Answer both questions 5 and 6 5.Were the policies proposed the same for all groups affected? If not, explain. 6.Who gained and who lost?