About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 Contemp. Crises 1 (1977)

handle is hein.journals/crmlsc1 and id is 1 raw text is: Contemporary Crises, 1 (1977) 1-4 © Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam. Printed in the Netherlands EDITORIAL STATEMENT WILLIAM J. CHAMBLISS Until recently, the study of social problems was a popular quest among social scientists. The focus of this inquiry was invariably couched in terms of characteristics of the modern world that were bothersome but susceptible to remedy. Social phenomena such as crime, divorce, starvation, poverty, mental health, population growth, and even family disorganization were studied as though they were minor, albeit important, irritants in an otherwise smooth functioning world which the social scientists with his or her special skills and knowledge could help soothe. The reality of contemporary crises has succesfully challenged that naive picture. Many social scientists and intellectuals no longer believe that these problems are merely minor irritants for which a solution can be found. Many have come to see these phenomena as integral parts of political and economic structures - of social reality - which can be understood but not immediately mastered. Crime is no longer viewed as anti-social behavior; divorce is not so much a problem as a sign of changing social relations; poverty may not have a solution, and over-population may be a tool used by Western capitalist nations in an attempt to suppress the legitimate demands of the third world. These changing and challenging ideas bespeak the fact that social science is currently experiencing an intellectual revolution of gigantic proportions. Theoretical traditions are being challenged and new paradigms are being explored. The period is both the most exciting and the most frustrating for perhaps the past fifty years. It is exciting, for the prospects are bright for breaking out of the ideological and pseudo-scientific strait-jackets that have hampered rather than pushed forward the quest for knowledge. It is frustrating, because those who would propose a new approach, a renewal of social theory and research, are inevitably providing more insightful criticisms than fully articulated alternatives. Everywhere one hears the cry for us to Department of Sociology, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 1 9711 U.S.A.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most