This report, the "Agenda for Social Justice: Solutions 2012," is designed to broadly inform our readers about some of the nation's most pressing social problems and to propose policy responses to those problems. Our audience includes social science scholars, teachers, and students; social activists; journalists, policymakers; elected officials; and of course the public-at-large. In short, this book is our attempt to inform and contribute to the ongoing public discourse about the nature and amelioration of some of our society's social problems. The Agenda for Social Justice: Solutions 2012 contains eleven chapters, each contributed by outstanding scholars in their respective areas, and each chapter addresses a specific social problem facing the U.S. today. The authors are professional researchers, activists, and/or policy professionals, and the goal of the text is to present cutting-edge academic knowledge in jargon-free language, both in defining a social problem and in suggesting policy responses that would work. Each piece can certainly stand on its own, and will certainly be informative in itself, and each chapter follows a definite format, and that the content is divided into three major sections: the first defining the social problem, the second providing evidence available to outline the state of affairs, and third offering concrete suggestions for the types of policies that would be effective in ameliorating these problems. The chapters in this book cover a wide range of concrete issues facing our society today, including issues of immigration, health, inequality, appropriation of public funds, income security, racial diversity, and social welfare. These are certainly among the pressing issues and discussions that one encounters in the news media and other areas of social discourse. The book is designed with short chapters, so that readers can devour the content, and then take these arguments to their academic work (whether teaching or scholarship) and the ideas into action in the world, ultimately creating a more just society. In all, it contains 11 chapters written by SSSP members, covering a variety of social problems covering a variety of pressing social problems, as follows: -Elizabeth J. Clifford, Susan C. Pearce, and Reena Tandon: Challenges Facing Foreign-Born women. -Amitai Etzioni: Regulatory Capture and Campaign Reform. -Robert Grantham: Inner-City Social Problems: -Cedric Herring: Diversity in America. -Tamara G.J. Leech and Devon Hensel: Reproductive Health of Black Women. -Jason Smith, Preston Rhea, and Sascha Meinrath: Promoting Equality in the Digital Sphere. -Cecilia Menjivar: U.S. Immigration Reform. -Carolyn Cummings Perrucci and Robert Perrucci: Jobs for America. -Frances Fox Piven: Inequality and Social Welfare. -John N. Robinson III and Katie Kerstetter: Affordable Housing. -Chris Wellin and Brooke Hollister: Economic Security for Older Americans.
About the Author: The Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) was formed in 1951 by social scientists interested in using social research to help in the solution of persistent social problems. The volume is published by the Justice 21 Committee of the SSSP, an endeavor that was inspired by Dr. Robert Perrucci in his 2000 SSSP Presidential Address, "Inventing Social Justice: SSSP and the 21st Century," in which he reminded the SSSP membership of the need to engage in public discourse with those who might use our academic and practical knowledge in addressing social problems.i Not only did Dr. Perrucci's speech mark the 50th Annual Meeting of the SSSP, it also helped set an agenda for our work moving into the 21st Century. From this inspiration a new committee was formed: the Justice 21 Committee, whose mission is to undertake the charge given by Dr. Perrucci to contribute to a public sociology of social problems. The members of the Justice 21 Committee are six academic sociologists (Glenn W. Muschert, Chair, Miami University; Kathleen Ferarro, Northern Arizona University; Brian V. Klocke, State University of New York, Plattsburgh; JoAnn Miller, Purdue University; Robert Perrucci, Purdue University; and Jon Shefner, University of Tennessee.) The contributors of the eleven chapters are sociologists working in the respective fields of expertise about which they are writing. They range from seasoned academics who have been prominent members of the field for decades, to up-and-coming stars in the field. The contributors bring a wide variety of academic, activist, and policy expertise to the table. In this volume, they have communicated their ideas and recommendations in concrete and clear language accessible to all concerned citizens and students of social issues. Contributors to this volume include the following scholars: Elizabeth J. Clifford, Susan C. Pearce, Reena Tandon, Amitai Etzioni, Robert Grantham, Cedric Herring, Tamara G.J. Leech, Devon Hensel, Jason Smith, Preston Rhea, Sascha Meinrath, Cecilia Menjívar, Carolyn Cummings Perrucci, Robert Perrucci, Frances Fox Piven, John N. Robinson III, Katie Kerstetter, Chris Wellin, and Brooke Hollister.