Social Problems - American Sociological Association

Introductory Essay
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students to analyze data on their own.
Instructors need not adopt these workbooks to incorporate inquiry-based instruction into their courses. Numerous
data sets are available on the web. The GSS, for example, is available on several web sites. See the Guide to Web
Resources for more information on these.
ABOUT THE RESOURCE GUIDE
We follow the previous edition in some ways, while diverging in others. We follow the second edition in not
including lists of textbooks or book reviews. The syllabi list numerous texts, and other social problems texts are
widely known. Teaching Sociology publishes valuable reviews of social problems texts and additional materials, so
there is no need to duplicate those here, at an additional cost to the reader. We have also mentioned some resources
in this introduction. We diverge from the second edition in including syllabi only for social problems courses.
Brooks and Broad included syllabi from upper level courses that dealt with topics frequently taught in social
problems courses. We think that instructors interested in syllabi for courses such as social stratification, deviance, or
other related topics would benefit most from the ASA teaching guides for those areas. Like the previous edition we
include a guide to web resources, but reflecting the growth of such resources, we have greatly expanded that section.
The Guide to Web Resources is also available on our web sites (Carroll: http://webhost.bridgew.edu/wcarroll;
Kaelber: http://www.uvm.edu/~lkaelber/kaelber.html.)
In selecting the syllabi included in this edition, we were looking for clear statements about the following
components:
• Description of the course content;
• Course objectives;
• Requirements to meet these objectives, and course policies;
• Evaluation of learning; and
• Course Schedule or calendar.
We chose those syllabi that in our judgment best included these components. The other materials—exercises,
assignments, and guidelines—were selected to address the different learning styles of students, and to provide
opportunities for active learning in diverse ways. The materials were edited for consistency in appearance.
We hope that anyone teaching social problems will find something of value in this manual. Those faced with
teaching social problems for the first time will find almost everything useful, but even experienced social problems
instructors will find nuggets that may enhance their courses.
We would appreciate comments, suggestions, or corrections. Please email them to either Walter Carroll
(wcarroll@bridgew.edu) or Lutz Kaelber (lkaelber@zoo.uvm.edu).
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