SOC 203 Week 1 Discussion 1

Week 1 - Discussion

Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Refer to the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric under the Settings icon above for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.

The Social   Imagination and Homelessness

We will learn about many social problems during this course. Some problems are very complex and are typically the result of both individual and social issues. Developing your sociological imagination requires that you see a social problem from many perspectives.  
 

For this discussion, watch the video, Homelessness is a Symptom (Links to an external site.), which covers the complexity of the problem of homelessness, costs of the problem to individuals and society, and the challenges associated with doing something about the problem.  Also, read The Sociological Imagination and Personal Crises (Links to an external site.) and look at the slide presentation Applying the Sociological Imagination to Homelessness (Links to an external site.) to address the questions below.  

1. In what ways might homelessness      be categorized as a social problem?  Explain your reasoning and      support your points with examples from the textbook.
2. Some of the policies suggested      in the video involve government policies and funds to address      homelessness. Suggest at least one other way that policies and/or programs      to address homelessness can be funded.  How do you define what is      appropriate use of public funds and how does the use of public funds fit      inside or outside of appropriate use?  The policies described in this      the video may be controversial. What concerns do you have about these      policies?
3. The sociological imagination      asks you to look at what may seem like personal problems as social problems      that are experienced widely by groups of people.  Using your      sociological imagination, describe the ways in which homeless is a social      problem.  Which groups are disproportionately impacted by the social      problem?
4. Complete a web search focusing      on policies intended to reduce or eliminate homelessness. Provide an      example of a potentially effective response to the problem of      homelessness. Define the elements that make this solution effective.

Your initial post should be at least 400 words in length. Support your claims with examples from required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly cite any references. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7. Comment on the merits or concerns of the solution your peers provided as an alternative response to the problem of homelessness.