Sociology and the Public Agenda

by William Julius Wilson (editor)

The editor of this volume asserts that sociology′s ostrich-like stance threatens to leave the discipline in a position of irrelevance to the world at large and compromises the support of policymakers, funders, media and the public. Wilson′s vision is of a sociology attuned to the public agenda, influencing public policy through both short and long-range analysis from a sociological perspective. Using a variety of policy issues, perspectives, methods and cases, the distinguished contibutors to this volume both demonstrate and emphasize Wilson′s ideas.

391 pages, Hardcover

First published March 2, 1993

About the author

William Julius Wilson is an American sociologist, a professor at Harvard University, and an author of works on urban sociology, race, and class issues. Laureate of the National Medal of Science, he served as the 80th President of the American Sociological Association, was a member of numerous national boards and commissions. He identified the importance of neighborhood effects and demonstrated how limited employment opportunities and weakened institutional resources exacerbated poverty within American inner-city neighborhoods.