Handbook of Social Problems

George Ritzer is Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland, where he has also been a Distinguished Scholar-Teacher and won a Teaching Excellence Award. He was awarded the Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award by the American Sociological Association, an honorary doctorate from LaTrobe University in Australia, and the Robin Williams Lectureship from the Eastern Sociological Society. His best-known work, The McDonaldization of Society (8th ed.), has been read by hundreds of thousands of students over two decades and translated into over a dozen languages. Ritzer is also the editor of McDonaldization: The Reader; and author of other works of critical sociology related to the McDonaldization thesis, including Enchanting a Disenchanted World, The Globalization of Nothing, Expressing America: A Critique of the Global Credit Card Society, as well as a series best-selling social theory textbooks and Globalization: A Basic Text. He is the Editor of the Encyclopedia of Social Theory (2 vols.), the Encyclopedia of Sociology (11 vols.; 2nd edition forthcoming), the Encyclopedia of Globalization (5 vols.), and is Founding Editor of the Journal of Consumer Culture. In 2016 he will publish the second edition of Essentials of Sociology with SAGE.

• INTRODUCTIONCh.01Social Problems: A Comparative International Perspective - George RitzerCh 02Theoretical Issues in the Study of Social Problems and Deviance - Joel BestCh. 03Methodological Issues in the Study of Social Problems - Norman K. Denzin and Yvonna S. LincolnCh. 04Social Problems and Public Policy - Tim Blackman and Roberta WoodsSOCIAL PROBLEMSCh. 05Population Change - Sonalde DesaiCh. 06Ecological Problems - Steven YearleyCh. 07Global Inequality - Salvatore J. Babones and Jonathan H. TurnerCh. 08Racism in Comparative Perspective - Joe R. Feagin and Pinar BaturCh. 09Ethnic Conflict as a Global Social Problem - Thomas D. HallCh. 10Gender Inequality - Amy S. WhartonCh. 11Urban Problems in Global Perspective - Chigon Kim and Mark GottdienerCh. 12Work-Related Social Problems - Teresa A. SullivanCh. 13The Media and Social Problems - Douglas KellnerCh. 14Consumption as a Social Problem - Douglas J. GoodmanCh. 15Family Problems in Global Perspective - Felix M. Berardo and Constance L. ShehanCh. 16Racial and Ethnic Educational Inequality in Global Perspective - Caroline Hodges Persell, Richard Arum, and Kathryn SeufertCh. 17Health as a Social Problem - William C. CockerhamCh. 18How Medical Care Systems Become Social Problems - Andrew TwaddleCh. 19Aids as a Social Problem: The Creation of Social Pariahs in The Management of an Epidemic - Bronwen LichtensteinCh. 20War, Militarism and National Security - Ian RoxboroughCh. 21Sea Change: The Modern Terrorist Environment in Perspective - Gus MartinCh. 22The Rhetoric and Reality of "Mass Destruction": How Genocide Became an International Social Problem - David Norman SmithCh. 23.Globalization - John Boli, Michael A. Elliott and Franziska BieriCh. 24Technology and Social Problems - Frank Webster and Mark EricksonCh. 25The Internet as a Global Social Problem - Gili S. DroriCh. 26Risk - John TullochDEVIANCECh. 27Crime - Michael TonryCh. 28Juvenile Delinquency - Mark C. StaffordCh. 29Drug Use as a Global Social Problem - Erich GoodeCh. 30The Sexual Spectacle: Making a Public Culture of Sexual Problems - Ken PlummerCh. 31Modern Day Folk Devils and the Problem of Children′s Presence in the Global Sex Trade - Julia O′Connell DavidsonCh. 32Mental Illness as a Social Problem - Howard B. KaplanCh. 33Disability As a Global Issue - Gary L. AlbrechtCh. 34Corruption as a Global Social Problem - Gary LaFree and Nancy Morris

"Ritzer′s Handbook of Social Problems offers a comprehensive treatment of today′s major societal issues. The articles are authored by some of the top scholars in the field and address problem areas that will capture the interests of students and professors alike. The international coverage is most welcome in this time of intensifying global inequalities."