PAM 2250 - Social Problems in the United States

(crosslisted) SOC 2070
(CA-HE, D-HE, SBA-HE)

Fall. 3 credits. Student option grading.

P. Rich.

This course introduces the causes, consequences, and possible solutions of major issues facing U.S. society today. Students learn how social problems are defined and contested in the public sphere, and how various perspectives reflect underlying debates about social norms and values. Through readings, lectures, in-class discussion, and writing assignments, students explore a range of social problems in depth, such as: childhood poverty, racial segregation and discrimination, crime, job insecurity, family instability, discrimination by sexual identity, unequal pay for women’s work, and gender imbalances in family life. Students study the historical and social roots of these various issues, bringing into focus how individual experiences and choices are embedded within a broader social structure.

Outcome 1: Understand historical, social, and policy contexts shaping several U.S. social problems, including childhood poverty, racial segregation, gender inequality, sexual discrimination, and economic insecurity.

Outcome 2: Identify social norms and values that shape competing perspectives on various social problems and their potential policy solutions.

Outcome 3: Recognize when, how, and why claims about social problems form in the public sphere.