- 2012/207 pages
- Social Problems, Social Constructions
Confronting Homelessness:
Poverty, Politics, and the Failure of Social Policy
Hardcover: $75.00
ISBN: 978-1-58826-823-5
Paperback: $25.00
ISBN: 978-1-62637-391-4
Ebook: $25.00
ISBN: 978-1-62637-523-9
Choice Outstanding Academic Book!
Whose fault is homelessness? Thirty years ago the problem exploded as a national crisis, drawing the attention of activists, the media, and policymakers at all levels—yet the homeless population endures to this day, and arguably has grown. David Wagner offers a major reconsideration of homelessness in the US, casting a critical eye on how we as a society respond to crises of inequality and stratification.
Incorporating local studies into a national narrative, Wagner probes how homelessness shifted from being the subject of a politically charged controversy over poverty and social class to posing a functional question of social-service delivery. At the heart of his analysis is a provocative insight into why we accept highly symbolic policies that dampen public outrage, but fail to address the fundamental structural problems that would allow real change.
Whose fault is homelessness? Thirty years ago the problem exploded as a national crisis, drawing the attention of activists, the media, and policymakers at all levels—yet the homeless population endures to this day, and arguably has grown. David Wagner offers a major reconsideration of homelessness in the US, casting a critical eye on how we as a society respond to crises of inequality and stratification.
Incorporating local studies into a national narrative, Wagner probes how homelessness shifted from being the subject of a politically charged controversy over poverty and social class to posing a functional question of social-service delivery. At the heart of his analysis is a provocative insight into why we accept highly symbolic policies that dampen public outrage, but fail to address the fundamental structural problems that would allow real change.
Also in the series: What is Constructionism? Navigating Its Use in Sociology by Scott R. Harris and Judging Victims: Why We Stigmatize Survivors, and How They Claim Respect by Jennifer L. Dunn
