Figure 1.1 This 4.40 minute video promotes the Social Problems class at Oregon Coast Community College. Although your class and college are different, the issues raised about recovering from the Echo Mountain Fire apply to many of the social problems we will examine in this class.

Our human lives are full of both joy and sorrow. We struggle with passing a class, standing up to a bully, staying healthy, losing a job, ending a marriage, or saying goodbye to a dying friend. We also savor the joys of life. We celebrate the new job, getting an excellent grade, the connection of family and friends, and the beauty of the glorious sunset over the beach. These deeply personal experiences are also connected to a wider world of family, community, country, and planet.

This chapter opens with a video about the Echo Mountain Fire in figure 1.1. In September 2020, a wildfire roared through the town of Otis, Oregon, and the surrounding forest. This tiny town, on the outskirts of Lincoln City, on the edge of the wild Pacific Ocean, was devastated. Many families evacuated with just the pajamas they were sleeping in. Other families were able to save a box or two, maybe their pets, but nothing else. Over the next few days of the fire, horses and cows were moved outside the fire range and then moved again, as the fire started to spread. Residents of Otis and Lincoln City were caught waiting—waiting for news, waiting for safety, waiting for food, and waiting for the fire to be contained.

The Echo Mountain fire was a disaster. Approximately 2,500 acres of forests and wild lands were destroyed. Over 1,241 structures burned. Over 300 families lost their homes, and countless others suffered damage from smoke inhalation for weeks after the fire. All of us who lived through the fire, including me, whether we lost our home or not, now understand how our lives can change in a moment.

I encourage you to learn more about the Echo Mountain Fire (figure 1.1). As you watch this short 4-minute video, please consider how recovery from this fire becomes a rich ground for understanding social problems.. This deep understanding can set the stage for learning about social problems in our world.

1.1.1 Focusing Questions

In this book, we explore social problems, complex social issues that must be solved collectively. To lay a foundation for this work, Chapter 1 focuses on answering four core questions:

1. What is a social problem?
2. How are social problems created and resolved?
3. How do social identity and social location impact the experience of a social problem?
4. Why does the interdependent nature of social problems require both individual agency and collective action?

We answer these questions section by section. In Defining A Social Problem, we examine the characteristics of a social problem. In Constructing a Social Problem, we define, apply, and critique the social problem process, a model that sociologists use to understand social problems more precisely. In Social Problems in a Diverse World, we look at how sociologists define difference and how those differences change how we experience social problems. In Social Problems and Interdependent Solutions, we explore the transformative possibilities of taking action, whether individually or with others. Finally, in our Chapter Summary, we wrap things up. The final section includes our discussion questions, keywords, and research sources.

Let’s dive in!