More than 150 key social issues confronting the United States today are covered in this eight-volume set: from abortion and adoption to capital punishment and corporate crime; from obesity and organized crime to sweatshops and xenophobia.

Addressing Social Issues in the Classroom and Beyond: The Pedagogical Efforts of Pioneers in the Field is comprised of essays that delineate the genesis and evolution of the thought and work of pioneers in the field of social issues and education. The authors (many of whom, themselves, are noted professors of education and who have done significant work in the field of social issues and education) delineate and analyze the efforts (e.g., theoretical work, research, curriculum development, and teaching) of such pioneers within the larger framework of their life-story. As a result, the reader is not only introduced to the significant work of each pioneer but valuable and often fascinating insights into how his/her life experiences informed his/her thinking, beliefs, goals and work. This book constitutes a rich and unusual record of the thinking and accomplishments of those luminaries who worked tirelessly in the belief that a well-educated and well-informed populace was absolutely imperative in a democracy if the latter were to remain healthy and vibrant. Beyond current scholars and students, we believe that this book will be of great interest to a wide spectrum of individuals: teacher educators who perceive the need to avail their students of the rich history, rationales and methods for incorporating the study of social issues across the curriculum; professors who teach history of curriculum courses and/or history of education courses are likely to be drawn to the book, both for the rich stories as well as the bounty of information found in each chapter; those who specialize in autobiographical studies in the field of education are likely to find the book to be remarkably rich and valuable both for their own research as well as in their teaching; secondary level teachers in science, social studies, and English who are interested in incorporating the study of social issues into the courses they teach will glean incredibly rich insights into why and how to go about such an endeavor; and future scholars and students who care deeply about how society impacts education, education impacts society, and how individuals and groups can have a positive impact on society through their collective efforts are bound to find the book both fascinating and instructive.

What role does justice play in the formation of public opinion and the scholarly debates about contemporary societal problems? This insightful volume explores this question in its examination of such issues as protection of natural ecology and resources, gender inequalities, mass unemployment, and the intergenerational contract. Important chapters discuss the conflict between justice concerns and motives and other motivations including the common welfare, self-interest, and altruism. The book features problem sets that focus on how justice motives can be used to define and solve social issues.

This book reflects and extends the great debates that schools, colleges, and universities are having in response to the profound moral conflicts and personal questions facing professionals today: What should we teach our students? What values should we communicate and nurture? What should be the role of the traditional liberal arts in professional education? How should schools and colleges respond to the demands of women and minorities for a more inclusive curriculum? The authors explore ongoing theoretical and practical considerations of graduate professional education through the ethical and social issues facing professionals in public service. Administrators, teachers, counselors, nurses, or lawyers are recognizing that they face similar questions about their personal and professional lives: Is it possible to sustain a set of fully human values as a practicing professional? As a member of a public organization, how does one deal with dilemmas involving conflicting priorities and ambiguous goals? The authors responses to these questions are presented as themes, describing connections between curriculum and pedagogy. They have designed an approach to ethical and social questions respectful of the contributions of adult learners and the need to provide diverse perspectives.

This book examines how social issues shape and influence our engagement with sport, leisure time physical activity, and health-promoting exercise. Connecting the personal with the public, it helps the reader understand how individual exercise, leisure, and sport participation are both facilitated and constrained by their social contexts. Presenting a series of in-depth descriptions of grassroots sport, urban lifestyle sport, physical activity across the life course, sport for children with special needs, and the development of creative climates in sport, this book seeks to encourage what C. Wright Mills described as the “sociological imagination”. Every chapter begins with an individual-level account centred on everyday challenges with accessing sport, partaking in leisure activities, and meeting guidelines for daily exercise before exploring the larger, socially determined patterns in which those experiences are located, establishing a vital template for the social scientific study of sport, leisure, and health. Touching on key contemporary themes including diversity, inclusion, health inequalities, and physical inactivity, as well as selection and intensification in sports, this book offers new case material and theoretical tools for understanding the relationships between sport, leisure, health, and the wider society. This is an indispensable companion for any course on the sociology of sport, exercise, leisure, or physical activity and health.

Popular culture is more than just a broad term for entertainment and frivolous diversions; it is also highly relevant to our understanding of society. This exciting book is the first to offer insights into the important, but often overlooked, relationship between popular culture and social problems. Drawing on historical and topical examples, the authors apply an innovative theoretical framework to examine how facets of popular culture--from movies and music to toys, games, billboards, bumper stickers, and bracelets--shape how we think about, and respond to, social issues, such as problems of gender, sexuality, and race. Including student features, evocative case studies, and access to online material, this book will help students explore and understand the essential connection between popular culture and social problems. Deftly combining the fun and irreverence of popular culture with critical scholarly inquiry, this timely book delivers an engaging account of how our interactions with--and consumption of--popular culture matter far more than we may think.

Create real change in the new social movement paradigm Social Movements for Good is a guidebook for driving change, by taking advantage of the social "currency" that makes movements go viral. Author Derrick Feldmann has spent a career showing organizations how to best reach donors, activists, and employees, and engage a new generation of supporters. In this book, he shares his secrets alongside the stories of today's most successful social good movements by companies and nonprofits. You'll learn about the leaders behind these movements, the individuals who responded, and the approaches that made it work. Modern social movements operate within a new paradigm, and this informative guide walks you through how these movements are created, why people get on board, and the strategy and support network that must be in place for it to succeed. Just going viral isn't enough to make a movement successful—there must be a plan, and the right people with the right skills to follow through with the execution. This book shows you who you need on your side, what they need to do their jobs, and which tools and methods are proving most effective every day. Read the stories of today's most successful social good movements Understand how modern social movements are created Learn how to truly activate a new generation of activists and supporters Formulate an approach that makes the public respond to your issue Effective social movements don't arise by accident. People don't spontaneously come together and effect real change. If you want your movement to succeed, you need a solid strategy and the tools to follow through. Social Movements for Good is your roadmap to viral success and the advancement of your cause.

The lectionary is a helpful homiletical tool. But there are times when lectionary preaching does not meet a congregation’s needs. Sermon Treks offers preachers and students an invigorating selection of new sermon-planning trails, for use as sermon series or for single sermons. The options presented here are practical and theologically responsible. Some are rooted in ancient forms of proclamation; others are new. All provide clear but creative guidance for the preacher, and a path that will lead to more effective sermons.

Political progressives in Canada and the United States are deeply concerned by the manner in which their countries treat their poor. They are dismayed at the dismantling of the social welfare state, the weakening of public education systems and the grotesque and ever-growing inequality of wealth. To remedy this problem, citizens need to be more aware of how political ideology influences attitudes and actions, and they need to better comprehend the effects of hegemonic discourses in the corporate media and school curriculum. This book informs educators how to develop context-specific pedagogy that will help achieve a more enlightened citizenry and, as a result, a stronger democracy. Teaching about Hegemony: Race, Class and Democracy in the 21st Century promotes a progressive agenda for teaching that is rooted in critical pedagogy, it explains why ideological critique is necessary in raising political consciousness, it deconstructs white, middle-class hegemony in the formal school curriculum, and it examines corporate media and school curriculum as hegemonic devices. It also covers recent theory and research about race, class and democracy and how best to teach about these topics. Combining theory and sociological research with pedagogical approaches and classroom narratives, this book is fundamental for progressive educators interested in developing a politically conscious, progressive and active citizenry hungry for a stronger civil society.

Where Did the Revolution Go? considers the apparent disappearance of the large social movements that have contributed to democratization. Revived by recent events of the Arab Spring, this question is once again paramount. Is the disappearance real, given the focus of mass media and scholarship on electoral processes and 'normal politics'? Does it always happen, or only under certain circumstances? Are those who struggled for change destined to be disappointed by the slow pace of transformation? Which mechanisms are activated and deactivated during the rise and fall of democratization? This volume addresses these questions through empirical analysis based on quantitative and qualitative methods (including oral history) of cases in two waves of democratization: Central Eastern European cases in 1989 as well as cases in the Middle East and Mediterranean region in 2011.