Published in Cooperation with the American Sociological Society Sociology has had a long and convoluted relationship with the public policy community. While the field has historically considered its mission one of effecting social change, in recent decades this has become only a minor part of the sociological agenda. The editor of this volume, MacArthur Fellow and former ASA President William Julius Wilson, asserts that sociology′s ostrich-like stance threatens to leave the discipline in a position of irrelevance to the world at large and compromises the support of policymakers, funders, media, and the public. Wilson′s vision is of a sociology attuned to the public agenda, influencing public policy through both short and long-range analysis from a sociological perspective. Using a variety of policy issues, perspectives, methods, and cases, the distinguished contributors to this volume both demonstrate and emphasize Wilson′s ideas. Undergraduates, graduate students, professionals, and academics in sociology, political science, policy studies, and human services will find this argument for sociology′s civic duty to be both compelling and refreshing. "The eighteen chapters on issues ranging from cultural and historical definitions of citizenship to American welfare policies and American corporate mergers are strong examples of solid social research, where authors draw out policy implications and, based on their research, make policy proposals. . . . Sociology and the Public Agenda is an insightful book for scholars of social policy, and also those interested in research design issues. The book is very relevant for political scientists engaged in policy research, interested in innovative research designs, and wondering about the ′place′ of the social scientist in setting public agendas." -Policy Currents

The editor of this volume asserts that sociology's ostrich-like stance threatens to leave the discipline in a position of irrelevance to the world at large and compromises the support of policymakers, funders, media and the public. Wilson's vision is of a sociology attuned to the public agenda, influencing public policy through both short and long-range analysis from a sociological perspective. Using a variety of policy issues, perspectives, methods and cases, the distinguished contibutors to this volume both demonstrate and emphasize Wilson's ideas.

Focusing on the agenda-setting function of the news media from an information processing standpoint, this volume examines how individuals expose themselves to news media content and how this content translates into issue salience. It utilizes the individual as the unit of measurement. Many agenda-setting studies have used the issue, rather than the individual, as the unit of measurement. By employing an "agenda-setting susceptibility" index, the book details how individuals who actively process information in the news media are most susceptible to agenda-setting effects. Merging agenda-setting with research in information processing and uses and gratifications, it proposes and tests a causal model of media agenda-setting influences by examining demographics, psychological factors, and behavioral variables of individuals.

Agenda-Setting asks who sets the agenda that brings social problems into the public arena, on to the policy agenda and, finally, to a change of policy. It provides important practical and theoretical insight into the agenda-setting process.

The Agenda for Social Justice: Solutions for 2020 provides accessible insights into some of the most pressing social problems in the United States and proposes public policy responses to those problems. Written by a highly respected team of authors brought together by the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP), it offers recommendations for action by elected officials, policy makers, and the public around key issues for social justice, including a discussion of the role of key issues of sustainability and technology in the development and timbre of future social problems. It will be of interest to scholars, practitioners, advocates, and students interested in public sociology and the study of social problems.

Public Sociology features a wide-ranging discussion of the controversial model of a social science that reaches out to non-academic audiences, including both average citizens and policymakers. This approach has been greeted with enthusiasm by supporters, and with skepticism and anxiety among critics. Both perspectives are well represented in this volume.Some of the critical voices question whether public sociology is even a good idea. Others dissent, arguing for a strong program in professional sociology as an alternative. Still others express concern that public sociology promotes a liberal-left political agenda, despite its nonpartisan pretensions. Some elements of the model are queried, such as ""critical sociology."" Others are supportive--discussing personal experiences, the benefits of an engaged social science, and how it could take social science into a broader, global marketplace.Following an introduction by the editor, the contributions include: David Boyns and Jesse Fletcher, ""Public Relations, Disciplinary Identity, and the Strong Program in Professional Sociology,"" Jonathan H. Turner, ""Is Public Sociology Such a Good Idea?"" Steven Brint, ""Guide to the Perplexed,"" Vincent Jeffries, ""Piritim A. Sorokin's Integralism and Public Sociology,"" Norella M. Putney, Dawn E. Alley, and Vern L. Bengston, ""Social Gerontology as Public Sociology in Action,"" Edna Bonacich, ""Working with the Labor Movement: A Personal Journey in Organic Public Sociology,"" Christopher Chase-Dunn, ""Globabl Public Social Science,"" Neil McLauglin, Lisa Kowalchuk, and Kerry Turcotte, ""Why Sociology Does Not Need to be Saved,"" Michael Burawoy, ""Third-Wave Sociology and the End of Pure Science,"" Patricia Madoo Lengerman and Jill Niebrugge-Brantley, ""Back to the Future: Settlement Sociology, 1885i?1/2-1930,"" Sean McMahon, ""From the Platform: Public Sociology in the Speeches of Edward A. Ross,"" Chet Ballard, ""The Origin and Early History of the Association for Humanist So

The Agenda for Social Justice 3: Solutions for 2024 provides accessible insights into some of the most pressing social problems and proposes public policy responses to those problems. Written by a highly respected team of authors brought together by the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP), the book offers recommendations for action by elected officials, policymakers and the public regarding key issues for social justice. Chapters include discussion of social problems related to criminal justice, the economy, food insecurity, education, healthcare, housing and immigration. The book will be of interest to scholars, practitioners, advocates and students interested in public sociology, the study of social problems and the pursuit of social justice.

This collection of recent essays by the influential sociologist Herbert J. Gans brings together the many themes of Gans’s wide-ranging career to make the case for a policy-oriented vision for sociology. Sociology and Social Policy explicates and helps solve social problems by presenting a range of studies on what people, institutions, and social structures do with, for, and against one another. These works from across Gans’s areas of interest—the city, poverty, ethnicity, employment and political economy, and the relationship between race and class—together make a powerful call to action for the field of sociology.

Why is religion still important? Can we be fully modern and fully religious? In this new edition, Davie follows up her discussion of the meaning of religion in modern society and considers how best to research and understand this relationship. Exploring the rapid movements within the sociology of religion today, this revised and updated book: • Describes the origins of the sociology of religion • Demystifies secularization as a process and a theory • Relates religion to modern social theory • Unpacks the meaning of religion in relation to modernity and globalization • Grasps the methodological challenges in the field • Provides a comparative perspective for religions in the west • Introduces questions of minorities and margins • Sets out a critical agenda for debate and research The Sociology of Religion has already proved itself as one of the most important titles within the field; this edition will ensure that it remains an indispensable resource for students and researchers alike.

Lobbying and political interest groups occupy an ambivalent place in advanced democracies. Lobbying is viewed with suspicion, but is also a critical avenue for voices in policy debates. This insightful book injects a new sociological understanding of politics and policy. Interest groups help set political agendas, provide support to policymakers, and mobilize resources around issues. They are also the means by which individuals and organizations achieve advantage over others in social and economic life. John C. Scott incorporates theory and research about interest groups into political sociology’s approach to issues of power, inequality, and public policy. As he convincingly reveals, a sociological understanding of lobbying and interest groups illustrates the edges and boundaries of representative democracy itself. Using case studies and data, and organized by topics such as influence, collective action, representation, and inequality, the book is a critical resource for students of policymaking and political sociology.