One of the most crucial components to this course concerns addressing social problems in society from a sociological viewpoint as opposed to a strictly policy-oriented, psychological, or criminal justice viewpoint. Although many different viewpoints in social science are valid and have a lot of importance, it is equally important for us to understand how sociology looks at the nature of social problems in society today. This paper will enable us to explore why certain social problems seem to be regarded as more significant than others. Our job will be in defining the sociological viewpoint, and choosing one social problem that we think is of high importance. We will build upon the topic we choose in this paper for our second and third writing assignments. 

Instructions 

Construct a 2-4 page paper that fully explores each of the following areas: 

1)    Citing our textbook material, explain how the sociological approach toward social problems differs from other approaches. Why are certain problems considered significant and others are not? 

2)    Next, choose one social problem that exists in society that you think is particularly serious, and explain it in sociological terms. This social problem should be measurable in some statistical way. (Is it increasing, and if so, how? Among which groups of people, and for how long, etc.?)  

3)    What might be one important way in which the social problem is currently being addressed in society?  

4)    Please define and identify at least four concepts from our text relevant to your chosen social problem. 

5)    Analyze the way in which these concepts help us better understand the nature of the social problem you are discussing. 

Don't forget to include proper APA-style citation and reference. (Assignment One is worth 10% of the total grade.)