Global Problems: The Search for Equity, Peace, and Sustainability, 3rd edition
Published by Pearson (February 21, 2012) © 2013
- Scott R. Sernau Indiana University South Bend
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Exploring social problems on a global scale
This text uses social science perspectives to examine the various dimensions of globalization, the social problems of inequality, war and violence, and environmental sustainability that are occurring on a global scale.
Clear writing and vivid examples help students to better understand their role as global citizens. The book was designed for courses such as Global Issues, Contemporary Problems, Social Problems, Social Stratification, World Cultures, and Social Change.
Learning Goals
Upon completing this book, readers should be able to:
- Understand social problems on a global scale – from inequalities to sustainability
- See the interconnections of the world and people throughout the world
- Learn about issues with a multinational and multidisciplinary approach, so readers will be able to have a broader understanding of the subject
- Helps students understand how social problems are affected by globalization:
- Part I focuses on the challenges of global inequalities: in life chances, wages and work, gender and education (ex. pg. 13).
- Part II focuses on conflict and violence at all levels: from crime to politics, terrorism to war (ex. pg. 121).
- Part III focuses on the issue of sustainability and the problems of urbanization, crowding and environmental destruction (ex. pg. 223).
- Pedagogical Features:
- The opening chapter summarizes the fundamental debates and issues associated with globalization (ex. pg. 15).
- Each chapter opens with vivid examples from everyday life, showing students how their lived experiences are interconnected with global forces and processes (ex. pg. 42).
- Includes discussions of key sociological theories for every topic.
- Examples are drawn from societies in every stage of development.
- For the section on equity, new attention is given to the global economic crisis, to emerging economies (Brazil, India, China), and to economic struggle, aging and debt in many developed economies (US, EU and Japan) (ex. pg. 15).
- For the section on conflict, new attention is given to current conflict zones including Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan, and Congo, and the “Arab Spring” revolts (ex. pg. 123).
- The section on sustainability is updated with the latest on global climate change, resource challenges, and recent natural and manmade disasters (ex. pg. 348).
- The opening encounters place particular emphasis on understanding the complexities of new global powers on every continent, including Brazil, South Africa and India.
- Each chapter concludes with an expanded and updated Making Connections section to draw students’ attention to reliable sources of additional information and Making a Difference sections show ways of getting involved in positive social change and global citizenship (ex. pg. 67).
IN THIS SECTION:
1.) BRIEF
2.) COMPREHENSIVE
BRIEF TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Part I: Seeking an Equitable World: Issues of Inequality
Chapter 1: Class: A World of Rich and Poor
Chapter 2: Work: The Global Assembly Line
Chapter 3: Gender and Family: Overburdened Women and Displaced Men
Chapter 4: Education: Access and Success
Part II: Seeking a Peaceful World: Issues of Conflict
Chapter 5: Crime: Fear in the Streets
Chapter 6: War: States of Terror
Chapter 7: Democracy and Human Rights: Having Our Say
Chapter 8: Ethnicity and Religion: Deep Roots and Unholy Hate
Part III: Seeking a Sustainable World: Environmental Issues
Chapter 9: Urbanization: Cities without Limits
Chapter 10: Population and Health: Only the Poor Die Young
Chapter 11: Technology and Energy: Prometheus’s Fire or Pandora’s Box?
Chapter 12: Ecology: How Much Can One Planet Take?
COMPREHENSIVE TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Preface
The Call of the World
Empires in Collision
Making a World System
Plan of the Book
Part I: Seeking an Equitable World: Issues of Inequality
Chapter 1: Class: A World of Rich and Poor
The Global Divide
Theories of Class and Economy
Economic Development: Modernization and Dependency Theories
Ending Extreme Poverty: Markets and Beyond
Humanizing Development
Chapter 2: Work: The Global Assembly Line
The Division of Labor
The New Frontier: From Hudson’s Bay to Land’s End
Made by Small Hands
A Trade Free-for-All
Ordering the World Market
Trade that is Fair for All
Chapter 3: Gender and Family: Overburdened Women and Displaced Men
Nietzsche Undone: From Superman to Supermom
Global Family Changes
Half the Sky
Chapter 4: Education: Access and Success
Brazil
The Foundations of Education
And Who Will Care for the Children?
Education around the World
Opening Doors, Opening Minds
Part II: Seeking a Peaceful World: Issues of Conflict
Chapter 5: Crime: Fear in the Streets
Seeking Security
Street Crime and Youth Violence
International Drug Trade
Incarceration around the World
International Crime Cartels
In Search of Opportunity and Order
Chapter 6: War: States of Terror
How States Made War and War Made States
From Limited War to Total War to Cold War
From World War to Regional Conflict
The Global Arms Trade
Weapons of Mass Destruction
Military Expenditures
The Last Great War?
Chapter 7: Democracy and Human Rights: Having Our Say
Nationalism and the Nation—State
From Bands to States
Nationalism and Independence
Democracy and Its Alternatives
“Dirty Wars”: When Democracy Degenerates
The Right to Be Fully Human
Chapter 8: Ethnicity and Religion: Deep Roots and Unholy Hate
Ethnicity: Ties That Bind and Divide
Faith and Fervor: Religious Diversity
Ethnicity, Religion, and Power
Identity and International Terrorism
Alternatives to Terror
Part III: Seeking a Sustainable World: Environmental Issues
Chapter 9: Urbanization: Cities without Limits
The Urban Millennium: Worldwide Urbanization
World Cities
Cities as Dynamos: Central Places and Hyperurbanization
The Shape of Urban Life
The Shape of the City
Seeking Livable Cities
Chapter 10: Population and Health: Only the Poor Die Young
World Population Estimates: Counting Heads
Marx and Malthus: The Population Bomb Debate
Demographic Transition Theory
Population Control
Migration
Disease
Health Care Reform
Living Well, Staying Well
Chapter 11: Technology and Energy: Prometheus’s Fire or Pandora’s Box?
Power Surge: The Advance of Technology
Energy: Fire from Above and Below
Chariots of Fire: Automobiles and Transport
Turning Down the Heat: Global Warming and Appropriate Technology
Chapter 12: Ecology: How Much Can One Planet Take?
Food: We Are What We Eat
Pollution
Deforestation and Desertification
Who Invited You? Invasive Species
Ecology and Economy: The Search for Sustainable Futures
References
Index
Scott Sernau (Ph.D., Cornell University) is Professor of Sociology and Director of International Programs at Indiana University South Bend where he regularly teaches courses on social inequality, urban society, sustainability and global issues. He has taught in Mexico, in France and aboard ship on global voyages with the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea program. He is the author of Economies of Exclusion: Underclass Poverty and Labor Market Change in Mexico; Critical Choices: Applying Sociological Insight in Your Life, Family, and Community; Bound: Living in the Globalized World, and Social Inequalities in a Global Age as well as editor of Contemporary Readings in Globalization. He has won six trustee’s teaching awards, as well as the Sylvia Bowman Award for Distinguished Teaching and the PA Mack Award for Distinguished Service to Teaching. He serves on the steering committee of the IU Faculty Colloquium on Excellence in Teaching, the board of the IUSB Center for a Sustainable Future, and the board of the Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research.
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