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[SocialProblems] Understanding I. What is a Social Problem | TH Ninh | YouTubeToText
YouTube Transcript: [SocialProblems] Understanding I. What is a Social Problem
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Core Theme
This lecture introduces the sociological understanding of social problems, emphasizing that they are defined by both measurable objective conditions and subjective public concerns, and are best analyzed through a "blaming the system" perspective rather than "blaming the victim."
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everyone professor Ning here and welcome
to our cell lecture videos on
understanding social problems so by way
of starting this lecture I'd like to
share with you one of my favorite books
it's called a curious mind written by
Brian Grazer a very successful man in
Hollywood and he has his book about
curiosity so I selected some of my
favorite quotes so if you click on that
link take you to a list of my favorite
clothes that I already selected so it's
not the whole book so I like you to just
scan through this and see you know which
which quotes resonate with you which is
your favorites yeah so I'm just gonna
pick some right now just for the sake of
encouraging two sparking your interest
so let's say the first one I have no
special talents
I'm only passionately curious that is
what Albert Einstein said Sabra
Einsteins you know it's a genius as you
can see he's saying that he his his
talent in a way young or his you know
the fact that his genius is really
driven by curiosity this quote really
reminds me of this one book about
Leonardo da Vinci who is really a
Renaissance man what that means is that
he's talented in so many different ways
as an artist as well as an engineer he
actually drew so he lived in like 15
15th century I believe in in Europe so
there's a lot of several hundred years
ago and yet he was already envisioned
how a airplane would look like isn't
that amazing and he was able to do that
because it was observing birds you know
and he was curious he said hey I'm
curious how I as a human can fly like a bird
bird
right so there's this book written about
Leonardo DaVinci recently and this
author a professor at Tulane University
it's like that Leonardo da Vinci was so
curious that every day he wakes up he
has at least one question to answer that
day and his questions can be seen as
conch what bizarre and weird because
he's been asking himself so many
questions so you know by the time that
he's an adult yes you know he has
already he now he he has you know much
more intrigue your questions are quite
out of the ordinary right so his
question can be something like hey
what's under a cat's tongue okay I'm
going to look for it today right so his
his curiosity and along with Einsteins
curiosity right makes me realize perhaps
curiosity is really the field behind
gene being a genius having special
talents being smart and so on so god
that's the first quote really resonate
with me in that way and then perhaps
there are so many others that you would
like to you know so like the second one
life isn't about finding the answer it's
about asking the questions asking
question is what really opens life right
this is how I integrated it it's not
about just the answer it's just asking
questions you know say hey from I so I'm
a sociologist I don't know much about
physics so hey why not ask people who
know about physics about physics physics
and then I can learn from that way I'm
so asking questions open life open doors
open opportunities yeah who knows what
could be behind those questions right so
anyways take your time breathe through
these this document is two pages highly
encourage it it's really cool reading
alright so let's go back to our lecture
here all right so all right so in this
so I hope I wanted to share that reading
to you so that way you come to our class
wouldn't open mine with curiosity with
tolerance willing to hear people's
different opinions and so on because we
will discuss a lot of quite clinical
controversial social issue
including sexual behavior which is the
next chapter drug abuse alcohol use and
crime and so on right so come to our
class and open way to learn okay so in
this lecture video on this chapter our
objectives are first of all to define
social problems and what are the
characteristics of social problems next
we will also try to understand how
sociologists see social problems how do
they study and analyze social problems
and next we'll also explore three so
theoretical perspectives that guide
sociological thinking on social problems
and then identify key steps in research
methods in scientific sociological
investigation in fact I'm this 3 their
theoretical perspective I may reference
it a little bit but we won't go into
much details until next few lectures
that in mind but definitely the first
two and then the last one okay okay so
our outline is first what do you find
you know this first section is what it's
a social problem then we'll go into
sociological perspectives on social one
then continuing change in social rank
and then fourth is doing research on
social problems
alright let's jump into our first
section which is looking at what is a
social problem so for problem is
basically defined as aspects of society
that a large number of people are
concerned about and would like to change
so that can be and you know one way you
can get in a hint or social it's just
observing what you see in news a lot
here in the news a lot or what people
are talking a lot because that's their
concern so some of our major concerns
right now is of course issues or
you know community police relations
issues around race relations issues
around the income inequality issues
around access to health care who get to
are able to go to a doctor who has
insurance and pay for the medication
that the fact that health care is
skyrocketing right that that's a concern
for a lot of people and in education you
know it's increasingly expensive so
that's also a concern I hear that a lot
you know among students another concern
is the you know wage gap where people
are not just making it enough money you
know ways to allow my students have like
two three jobs that's like my thing is
how do you survive with you know three
jobs and studying UCS so those are
examples of social problems because it's
a concern that impact a law many people
in society and people want to talk about
it as you take change okay
so let's unpack the characteristics of
social problems social problems are have
at least two important dimensions and of
course they can be broken further the
first is that they can be studied or
experienced as objective conditions so
for example this would be a doctor
condition 30% of Americans are currently
unemployed do you say how thirty percent
is measured and unemployment experience
so that's objective now the average
student loan debt right now is 40 grand
yeah that's measure average loan student
loan debt is 40 grand objective
conditions can be measured and and
perhaps I can maybe identify how many student
student
oh yes sir though you know 40 grand on
average or at least or even yes oh you
see that objective condition sorry no
the other aspects of social comment this
is the next element character dimension
is much more complex it's subjective
concerns now this is one a large number
of people worry about the objective
condition so they want to change for
example now do you notice how it says
you're a number of people it doesn't say
everyone cuz if it where everyone then
we will be on the same page all of us in
society and we would make sure that
policies have changed so that way our
society will will you know won't have
this problem again but the reason why
it's a problem because not everyone's on
the same page so that's the reason so
for example universal health care as you
may know already it's continually a
debate among Americans whether or not
everyone should have access to universal
health care so you know some people say
yes let's say no some people perhaps in
the middle this is why this you know
it's universal health care is still it's
a concern it's a big concern right and
it's a problem because we you know we're
not on the same page yet we as a society
as American so no subjective concerns
our dynamics right it can change over
time depending on who you're talking to
and what state they're living in and it
can change and of course it's relative
right jet and in terms of gender in
terms of age state residents and and
citizenship status and so on and of
course because it's a subjective there
can be computing bills not everyone
agree even if they agree let's say to
have universal health care um not
everyone agree on how to implement yeah
universal health care for Americans so
there can be competing views
so again as you can see social problems
can be identified by two dimensions
objective conditions which can be
measured and subjective concerns which
is when number of people are worried
about the doctor conditions and perhaps
speculating and wishing that it could be
okay all right so as I said so Jake
concerns can be dynamic relative and
have competing views alright so here I'm
giving you an example of a social
problems you know why poor children you
know the fact that a pattern that many
poor children in urban areas learn very
little in schools now I want to present
this case because I want to show you
that there can be at least two very
different ways of analyzing this and
sociologists will tend to look through
one way you know and less the other way
so let me present it to you so one
perspective is to blame the victim right
blame say that hey you know the reason
why poor children in rural areas have
learned saloons school perhaps because
it's their problem they're poor and you
know they don't value education as much
or they deserve it right so blaming the
victim you seeis or blame the parents
say the children's friends do not care
about just you know that their
children's learning that's the reason
why the parents don't help the students
do their homework don't help us don't
ask the students how they're doing at
school and so on so blame the parents
another aspect of blaming the victim
perspective is to say that hey the
parents they have to teach them good
study habits yeah and the parents are
not good the parents are not good models
the parents are not you know training
you know looking out after the kids just they
they
just like the kids are everyone are just
really control them too much right
rather than teach it you know teaching
them how to become a good person or good
students gays or another way another
blaming the victim perspective aspect
the perspective is to say that the
parents do not encourage the children to
take seriously okay now another
perspective and I would say this what
many sociologists are more on the
blaming the system perspective and I'll
explain it more later on Iran and
blaming the victim which is focusing on
individual sociologists of course we
look at individual but we also look at
society as a large that's why it's
called sociology sociology is a study of
society so we blame the system so we
might say hey why poor why are poor
children urban areas learn so little in
schools perhaps because well for so they
will say probably an educated patient
our public issues that means it's not
individual that means that we as society
need to be aware that parent education
is a social problem it's a social
concern how so let's unpack this why why
are they saying that power in education
and public issues well they'll say
things like this urban schools are
overcrowded and have old decrepit
structures and quipment as you know
native states urban urban public schools
are public funded and/or public schools
in general but in urban areas
unfortunately it's overcrowded and they
don't they're not well funded by the
government by so they don't they are not
up to date
they don't have laid your new buildings
up to date technology for the students
that's why the students can't learn so
it's not about the students or the
parents it's because of the schools and
the policies are in place that really
you know little bit opportunities for
for the the students so related to the
point I just made yeah another assigned
blame of the system is to say that hey
the government continued reduce its
funding for
in school as a result there the school
doesn't have you know the a very healthy
environment conducive to learning it
doesn't have all the technology
equipment it needs for the students to
in order to encourage the students to
learn it doesn't invest into making you
know into the professional development
of teachers who teachers can learn the
latest skills to help their students
learn right so so another aspect you
know from the blaming the system
perspective a position this position
would say something like reason why push
you don't know burn areas learn so
little it's because the media doesn't
encourage Porcher to study you know the
media always represent course you know
poor children as bad as not very good
students they join gangs they they they
are rowdy and and so on right so the
meat is so it's not good and support
children when they watch the media they
you know some of them may be hurt by
this they internalize what's represent a
media and unfortunately some of them do
act that out right is they hate in me I
say poor children or or not good
students I'm poor so I'm not okay so
this is really unfortunate of course you
know but the reality is this you know as
many studies have found this the media
has huge impact in shaping how we see
ourselves and what we can do the media
includes social media includes TV
includes radio podcast and and and so on
okay I'm not from the planing the
assistant position blaming the system
position another one another argument
can be presented that the economy
requires parents to work multiple jobs
to support families as a result even
though parents we pull parents really
truly values education and want their
children to succeed academically but
they themselves are strained by their
employment their work they work crazy
18 hours a day you know in order to make
enough money to bring food on put food
on the table they'll have a roof over
their heads right and that's just barely
living so you see how this is a how this
per second does not blame their parents
of bad parents for not teaching their
children how to learn look to be a good
student for not taking you know not
teaching the students and current
students to be children to be good
students or no it's saying that hey the
parents are victims of a bad economic
system and in which they have to work so
much that's why they can't be available
for their kids and teach their kids good
study habits anyways I just presented to
you two perspectives are trying to
understand why poor two in urban areas
are so little and you know one
perspective blaming victim is more
blaming the person the individual near
the perspective looked at at a baker
Society macro you know linking
individual to social groups to
institutions like the media government
in order to understand how and why some
people act a certain way or how and why
there are life opportunities are limited
so I would argue that most perhaps at
all but most or many sociologists will
will be leaning toward the blaming
system perspective because they look at
society and a big allure big level okay
all right so now a sociologist who
studies social problems have noticed
that there are four stages in which
social problems develop and evolve and
so the first stage is that the social
problems emerge and so there are people
who have who have become upset about
some objective conditions so
define it as a social problem and then
you know there are people who want to
make a claim around this in order to
advocate for change second stage is
legitimacy and so in this stage this is
when perhaps there is an effort to craft
an official response I must say a bill a
proposal to to change to create you know
solution for social problems so trying
to change it obtained legitimacy the
third stage is renews claims making you
know this is when reacting to the
official response how what what what is
the response from the government from
the public and whatever that responses
that will renew their claims making in
which the people who want to solve this
problems and then fourth is development
of a turn of strategy so depending on
how the the public or the official
responses people behind after taining or
behind agitation for change in social
problems they want solutions to a social
well they will develop training
strategies in order to make sure that
the the social problems will be solved
you know somehow so these are the four
stages that will occur until the social
problems no longer exist as a problem so
it's been solved yeah otherwise it goes
to continue goes through more stages okay
okay
and so that ends of this part our
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