This first volume of The Society Pages series focuses on politics. Drawn largely from feature content, posts, and exchanges provoked by the elections of 2012, the chapters are organized into three main sections. "Core Contributions" exemplifies how sociologists and other social scientists think about otherwise familiar political phenomena like power, polling, and social movements. Chapters in the "Cultural Contexts" section draw out the political content and implications of cultural realms-from religion and race, to sports, humor, and new media technologies-that are often ignored or taken for granted. And the "Critical Takes" rubric gathers pieces on inequalities embedded in and reproduced through the political system, how sociological tools and insights are employed in the public sphere, and the role of government in shaping society through public policy.

A comprehensive examination of the connection between mass incarceration and health In an age when over two million people are incarcerated in the United States alone, the wide-reaching impact of prisons in our society is impossible to deny, and the paradoxical relationship between prisons and health has never been more controversial. Prisons are charged at the same time with being punitive and therapeutic, with denying freedom and administering treatment, with confining and rehabilitating. And they are not living up to the charge. Prisons and Health in the Age of Mass Incarceration examines the connection between prisons and health. Based on a decade of empirical research, this book explores the consequences of incarceration on inmates themselves; on the families they leave behind; on the larger communities to which they return; and, ultimately, on entire health care systems at the state and national level. Jason Schnittker, Michael Massoglia, and Christopher Uggen demonstrate that the relationship between incarceration and health is sustained by a combination of social, cultural, and legal forces, and by a failure to recognize that prisons are now squarely in the business of providing care. With an eye to the history that led us to this point, the book investigates these connections and shows how prisons undermine health and well-being. An evenhanded and comprehensive analysis, this groundbreaking volume demonstrates that the prison system produces unintended and far-reaching consequences for the health of our nation and points the way for a fairer and more effective justice system.

The third volume in The Society Pages series tackles race, ethnicity, and diversity in contemporary American society. As with our previous volumes, the chapters are organized into three main sections. "Core Contributions" exemplifies how sociologists and other social scientists think about race-related groups and topics-in this case the demographics of race, the construction of group identities, and the social psychology of prejudice and racism. Chapters in the "Cultural Contexts" section engage race and diversity in and through cultural realms-ranging from mass media and sports to the environment-in which powerful racial dimensions are sometimes overlooked. Finally, the "Critical Takes" chapters provide sociological commentary, perspective, and reflections on the problematic structure and future of race relations in the United States.

The second volume in this series tackles crime and punishment. As in the first volume, the chapters are organized into three main sections. "Core Contributions" exemplifies how sociologists and other social scientists think about otherwise familiar phenomena like crime, incarceration, and suicide. Chapters in the "Cultural Contexts" section engage crime in cultural realms-from politics to families to international crime and justice-that are often ignored or taken for granted among laypeople or in other social science disciplines. Finally, the "Critical Takes" chapters provide sociological commentary, perspective, and reflections on crime and its control.

"Mr. Manza and Mr. Uggen... wade into one of the most contested empirical debates in political science: How many (if any) recent American elections would have gone differently if all former felons had been allowed to vote?"-The Chronicle of Higher Education. Jeff Manza and Christopher Uggen, who understand the vastness of the jailers' reach, follow the story out of the cell and into the voting booth. Locked Out examines how the disenfranchisement of felons shapes American democracyhardly a hypothetical matter in an age of split electorates and hanging chads.... Exacting and fair, their work should persuade even those who come to the subject skeptically that an injustice is at hand.The New York Review of Books. 5.4 million Americans-1 in every 40 voting age adultsare denied the right to participate in democratic elections because of a past or current felony conviction. In several American states, 1 in 4 black men cannot vote due to a felony conviction. In a country that prides itself on universal suffrage, how did the United States come to deny a voice to such a large percentage of its citizenry? What are the consequences of large-scale disenfranchisement-for election outcomes, for the reintegration of former offenders back into their communities, and for public policy more generally? Locked Out exposes one of the most important, yet little known, threats to the health of American democracy today. It reveals the centrality of racial factors in the origins of these laws, and their impact on politics today. Marshalling the first real empirical evidence on the issue to make a case for reform, the authors' path-breaking analysis will inform all future policy and political debates on the laws governing the political rights of criminals.

With contributions from leading scholars and a provocative collection of discussion topics and group activities, this innovative series provides an accessible and affordable entry point for strong sociological perspectives on topics of immediate social import and public relevance. The fourth volume in the series, Owned, addresses the new social science of debt. "Core Contributions" pieces show how sociologists and other social scientists make sense of phenomena like student loans and court fees. Chapters in the "Cultural Contexts" section engage debt through cultural realms-ranging from Detroit's crumbling infrastructure to global climate debt-that are often ignored or taken for granted. Finally, the "Critical Takes" chapters provide sociological commentary and reflection on credit, debt, and the American Dream.