Sociology and the public agenda

Published in Cooperation with the American Sociological Society Sociology has had a long and convoluted relationship with the public policy community. While the field has historically considered its mission one of effecting social change, in recent decades this has become only a minor part of the sociological agenda. The editor of this volume, MacArthur Fellow and former ASA President William Julius Wilson, 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 contributors to this volume both demonstrate and emphasize Wilson's ideas. Undergraduates, graduate students, professionals, and academics in sociology, political science, policy studies, and human services will find this argument for sociology's civic duty to be both compelling and refreshing. "The eighteen chapters on issues ranging from cultural and historical definitions of citizenship to American welfare policies and American corporate mergers are strong examples of solid social research, where authors draw out policy implications and, based on their research, make policy proposals. . . . Sociology and the Public Agenda is an insightful book for scholars of social policy, and also those interested in research design issues. The book is very relevant for political scientists engaged in policy research, interested in innovative research designs, and wondering about the 'place' of the social scientist in setting public agendas." -Policy Currents

INTRODUCTION SOCIOLOGY, SOCIAL SCIENCE, AND THE PUBLIC POLICY AGENDA Can Sociology Play a Greater Role in Shaping the National Agenda? - William Julius Wilson The Interaction of the Sociological Agenda and Public Policy - Carol H Weiss How Do Issues Get on Public Policy Agendas? - John W Kingdon The Powers and the Intellectuals - Steven Brint Benchmark Texts and Changing Conditions PART ONE: THE POLITICS OF CITIZENSHIP Migrants Into Citizens? Traditions of Nationhood and Politics of Citizenship in France and Germany - Rogers Brubaker Citizenship and Welfare - J Donald Moon Social Democratic and Liberal Perspectives `Social Citizenship', Work and Social Solidarity - Roger Lawson Historical Comparisons Between Britain and Sweden PART TWO: ORGANIZATIONS, SOCIAL MOVEMENTS, AND PUBLIC POLICY Organizations as (Secondary) Citizens - Philippe C Schmitter Networks as Political Glue - David Knoke Explaining Public Policy-Making Financial Reorganization of American Corporations in the 1980s - Neil Fligstein and Linda Markowitz The Conservative Revolution That Wasn't - Anne Wortham New Right Populism and the Preservation of New Deal Liberalism PART THREE: THE PUBLIC AGENDA: ADDRESSING HIGH PRIORITY SOCIAL PROBLEMS How Families Manage Risk and Opportunity in Dangerous Neighborhoods - Frank F Furstenberg Jr The Community Context of Violent Crime - Robert J Sampson The Politics of Homelessness - Peter H Rossi Inner-City Education - James P Comer A Theoretical and Intervention Model Mothers, Children, and Low-Wage Work - Roberta M Spalter-Roth, Heidi I Hartmann and Linda M Andrews The Ability to Earn a Family Wage PART FOUR: ISSUES FOR THE PUBLIC AGENDA The French Child Welfare System - Barbara R Bergmann An Excellent System We Could Adapt and Afford Employment as a Human Right - Philip Harvey