Student Welcome

Thank you for joining us on this adventure into the beautiful and complicated world of social problems. We challenge you to bring an open mind and a curious heart to this exploration.

This textbook has been designed to engage all of you. The chapters average about two hours of required reading and video content. Your actual engagement time may differ depending on how fast you read (and how many jobs you have while you are in school).

You may notice that we have added many links to videos, blogs, papers, and other sources throughout the book. Unless the text says “Please read” or “Take a moment to watch”, those resources are there for you to learn more if you want to. You may find them helpful as you work on your assignments, or if you are just plain curious to learn more.

This text is designed to pair with the course Sociology 206: Social Problems. You will find assignments and discussion questions that help you understand these readings more deeply.

Finally, please pardon our dust. The authors and the staff at the Open Oregon Educational Resources project have been hard at work to deliver a text and course that are polished and professional. This version is a pilot version. If you see any mistakes or wish to provide other feedback, please do so. Let’s make it better together!

Warm Regards,

Kim Puttman, Lead Author