Social Problems, Law, and Society

This reader is part of the Society of the Study of Social Problems Presidential Series of academic texts investigating social problems from interdisciplinary perspectives. For this volume, Stout (sociology and criminology, Dominican U.), Dello Buono (sociology, Dominican U.) and Chambliss (sociology, George Washington U.) gathered articles published in Social Problems since 1953 that collectively document changing critical thinking about law and society. The subjects covered include ontological gerrymandering, law and race, gender and class, and globalization and human rights. The editors have added introductory and concluding chapters to help students absorb the material. Annotation c2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

William J. Chambliss is professor of sociology and codirector of the Institute on Crime, Justice, and Corrections at George Washington University. He is a pioneer in the field of critical criminology and former president of the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) and the American Society of Criminology (ASC). Chambliss has published many well-known articles and books, including Power, Politics and Crime and On the Take. Richard A. Dello Buono is associate professor of sociology at Dominican University and former SSSP vice-president. He was visiting professor of political studies and international relations at the National University of Colombia in Bogota, Fullbright Professor at the University of Panama, and invited Graduate Studies Professor at both the University of Havana, Cuba, and at the Autonomous University of Zacatecas, Mexico. Dello Buono was formerly the editor of Social Problems Forum and is currently an associate editor of Critical Sociology. A. Kathryn Stout is associate professor of sociology and director of criminology at Dominican University. She is active in the Society for the Study of Social Problems, the American Society of Criminology, and various scholar-activist and social justice organizations. Specializing on the intersection of law and social movements, she is author of 'Political Prisoners as an Emergent Contradiction of State Repression' (with R. A. Dello Buono) and Sanctuary in the 1980s: the Dialectics of Law and Social Movement Development.