Encyclopedia Of Contemporary American Social Issues 4 Volumes

Alphabetically-arranged entries discuss the most critical issues facing American society today.

Alphabetically-arranged entries discuss the most critical issues facing American society today.

This single-source reference will help students and general readers alike understand the most critical issues facing American society today. Featuring the work of almost 200 expert contributors, the Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Social Issues comprises four volumes, each devoted to a particular subject area. Volume one covers business and the economy; volume two, criminal justice; volume three, family and society; and volume four, the environment, science, and technology. Coverage within these volumes ranges from biotechnology to identity theft, from racial profiling to corporate governance, from school choice to food safety. The work brings into focus a broad array of key issues confronting American society today. Approximately 225 in-depth entries lay out the controversies debated in the media, on campuses, in government, in boardrooms, and in homes and neighborhoods across the United States. Critical issues in criminology, medicine, religion, commerce, education, the environment, media, family life, and science are all carefully described and examined in a scholarly yet accessible way. Sidebars, photos, charts, and graphs throughout augment the entries, making them even more compelling and informative.

More than 150 key social issues confronting the United States today are covered in this eight-volume set: from abortion and adoption to capital punishment and corporate crime; from obesity and organized crime to sweatshops and xenophobia.

Truly comprehensive in scope -- and arranged in A-Z format for quick access -- this monumental eight-volume set is a one-source reference for anyone researching the historical and contemporary details of major issues confronting American society.

This two-volume set provides an authoritative overview of the major environmental issues of the 21st century, with a special focus on current challenges, trends, and policy choices. This set provides an up-to-date, comprehensive, and focused resource for understanding the nature and scope of environmental challenges facing the United States and the world in the 21st century, as well as options for meeting those challenges. Volume One covers environmental trends and challenges within the United States, while Volume Two illuminates environmental issues and choices around the world. Issues covered in both volumes include vital topics such as climate change, air and water pollution, natural resource and species protection, and agricultural/industrial impacts on the environment and public health. For all topics, the authors—scholars and experts hailing from a wide range of environmental and policy fields—detail a range of political, social, and economic options for the future and explain why the issue in question is important for society and people as well as the natural world.

The American family has come a long way from the days of the idealized family portrayed in iconic television shows of the 1950s and 1960s. The four volumes of The Social History of the American Family explore the vital role of the family as the fundamental social unit across the span of American history. Experiences of family life shape so much of an individual’s development and identity, yet the patterns of family structure, family life, and family transition vary across time, space, and socioeconomic contexts. Both the definition of who or what counts as family and representations of the “ideal” family have changed over time to reflect changing mores, changing living standards and lifestyles, and increased levels of social heterogeneity. Available in both digital and print formats, this carefully balanced academic work chronicles the social, cultural, economic, and political aspects of American families from the colonial period to the present. Key themes include families and culture (including mass media), families and religion, families and the economy, families and social issues, families and social stratification and conflict, family structures (including marriage and divorce, gender roles, parenting and children, and mixed and non-modal family forms), and family law and policy. Features: Approximately 600 articles, richly illustrated with historical photographs and color photos in the digital edition, provide historical context for students. A collection of primary source documents demonstrate themes across time. The signed articles, with cross references and Further Readings, are accompanied by a Reader’s Guide, Chronology of American Families, Resource Guide, Glossary, and thorough index. The Social History of the American Family is an ideal reference for students and researchers who want to explore political and social debates about the importance of the family and its evolving constructions.

This new four-volume encyclopedia is the most comprehensive and up-to-date resource available on the history of Native Americans, providing a lively, authoritative survey ranging from human origins to present-day controversies. From the origins of Native American cultures through the years of colonialism and non-Native expansion to the present, Encyclopedia of American Indian History brings the story of Native Americans to life like no other previous reference on the subject. Featuring the work of many of the field's foremost scholars, it explores this fundamental and foundational aspect of the American experience with extraordinary depth, breadth, and currency, carefully balancing the perspectives of both Native and non-Native Americans. Encyclopedia of American Indian History spans the centuries with three thematically organized volumes (covering the period from precontact through European colonization; the years of non-Native expansion (including Indian removal); and the modern era of reservations, reforms, and reclamation of semi-sovereignty). Each volume includes entries on key events, places, people, and issues. The fourth volume is an alphabetically organized resource providing histories of Native American nations, as well as an extensive chronology, topic finder, bibliography, and glossary. For students, historians, or anyone interested in the Native American experience, Encyclopedia of American Indian History brings that experience to life in an unprecedented way.