Week 1

What is a social problem?
More on social problems
Structural and individual explanations
Some basic questions to ask
Outline
Side pages: cause, consequences, benefits, framing, what to do?

Weeks 2 - 3

Are news media biased?
Individual vs structural explanations of bias
Some common techniques used to deceive
How is news 'filtered?'
Outline
Money and politics
Outline II

Week 4

Is the earth warming?
But is it a social problem?
What is the greenhouse effect?
Outline

Week 5

Natural resources--a primer
Who's using up the world's resources?
Have humans overshot their carrying capacity?
Outline

Week 7

A McDay in the McLife
McDonaldization--a primer
Lecture outline (from class)
When rationalization turns irrational
Supersize that cage for you?
Lecture outline

Week 8

Orwell's 1984
When rationalization turns irrational
Supersize that cage for you?
Lecture outline

Week 9

A 'war on terror'
Some statistics

Week 10

Globalization--a very brief primer
More on globalization
Economic growth as part mythology
Lecture outline