Greetings Social Problems Theory Division Members, To start, we are about two months away from the annual meetings in Philadelphia. There are a few items in this newsletter that pertain to those meetings. First, the division’s annual business meeting is on Friday, August 10, at 12:30 p.m. in Liberty Ballroom A. As always, we welcome all division members and prospective members to the meeting and hope that you become involved. This year, we are hosting a Writing and Publishing workshop on Monday, August 13. The workshop will begin at 10:00 a.m. and end at 3:30 p.m. It will include two sessions followed by a keynote address by Eviatar Zerubavel. The two sessions are “Strategies for Writing and Publishing” and “Expectations and Constraints of the Publishing Process.” This workshop is free to any SSSP members, and it is an opportunity to learn from authors and editors about the publishing process. This year’s meetings look to be quite exciting for our division. Pages two and three of this newsletter feature a list of all sessions sponsored or co-sponsored by our division. The latter portion of page three also includes our announcement of the 2018 Student Paper Competition Award winner. This newsletter concludes with announcements on page four. See you in Philadelphia. David C. Lane University of South Dakota Social Problems Theory Division Chair (2016-2018) SOCIAL PROBLEMS THEORY DIVISION of the Society for the Study of Social Problems SUMMER 2018 NEWSLETTER MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR THEORY DIVISION CHAIR 2016-2018 DAVID C. LANE Anthropology and Sociology University of South Dakota Vermillion, SD dave.lane@usd.edu # IN THIS ISSUE: Philadelphia SPT sessions Pages2-3 2018 Award Winner Page 3 Recent Member Publications and Other Announcements Page 4 Articles and Book Chapters Nica, Andreea. 2018. “The Forgotten Nones: The High Cost of Fleeing Fundamentalist Religion”. Religious Dispatches (http://religiondispatches.org/the-forgotten-nones-the-high-cost-of-fleeing-fundamentalist-religion/) Gina Petonito and Glenn W. Muschert, 2018. “Silver Alert: Society Aging, Dementia and Framing of a Social Problem,” in Critical Gerontology Comes of Age, edited by Christopher Wellin, Routledge, Taylor and Francis, pp. 134-150. Films Lonnie Athens was featured in the documentary “Why They Kill: The Creation of Dangerous Violent Criminals,” produced and directed by Giuseppe Fazari, Sangue Films. (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/why-they-kill-the-documentary#/). RECENT MEMBER PUBLICATIONS SOCIAL PROBLEMS THEORY DIVISION Andreea Nica was the winner of the winner of the SSSP Society and Mental Health Division’s Student Paper Competition for her solo-authored paper: “Exiters of Religious Fundamentalism: Reconstruction of Social Relationships and Support Related to Mental Well-Being." 2018 ANNUAL MEETINGS PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE: SOCIAL PROBLEMS THEORY DIVISION SESSIONS SOCIAL PROBLEMS THEORY DIVISION Session # Session Title Sponsor(s) Time and Place 3 CRITICAL DIALOGUE: Uncertainty in Political Discourse Global Social Problems Theory Friday, August 10, 8:30 am Room: Independence C 13 New Work in Social Problems Theory I Social Problems Theory Friday, August 10, 10:30 am Room: Independence C Social Problems Theory Division Business Meeting Friday, August 10, 12:30 pm Room: Liberty Ballroom A 35 Problems in Higher Education: Resistance and Transformation —THEMATIC Educational Problems Social Problems Theory Friday, August 10, 2:30 pm Room: Independence D 47 Social Problems Work in Higher Education—THEMATIC Educational Problems Social Problems Theory Friday, August 10, 4:30 pm Room: Independence D 54 New Work in Social Problems Theory II Social Problems Theory Saturday, August 11, 8:30 am Room: Independence C 63 CRITICAL DIALOGUE: Social Action and Liberation: Community Partnerships—THEMATIC Community Research and Development Drinking and Drugs Social Problems Theory Saturday, August 11, 10:30 am Room: Independence A 74 CRITICAL DIALOGUE: Abolitionism and the State—THEMATIC Social Problems Theory Saturday, August 11, 12:30 pm Room: Independence A 97 Precarity and Contingency in the Academy and Beyond Labor Studies Social Problems Theory Saturday, August 11, 2:30 pm Room: Salon 10 109 Developments and Controversies in Crime Theory and Methods Crime and Juvenile Delinquency Social Problems Theory Sunday, August 12, 8:30 am Room: Freedom G Other Announcements Insert picture of me here. Editors: Margaret McGladrey and David C. Lane Session # Session Title Sponsor(s) Time and Place 120 Memory, Identity, and Emotion in Social Problems Social Problems Theory Sunday, August 12, 10:30 am Room: Freedom G 131 Theoretical Approaches to Medicalization and Mental Health Health, Health Policy, and Health Services Society and Mental Health Social Problems Theory Sunday, August 12, 12:30 pm Room: Freedom G 163 Theorizing Resistance and Social Justice Action—THEMATIC Law and Society Social Problems Theory Sunday, August 12, 4:30 pm Room: Freedom F 2018 ANNUAL MEETINGS PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE: SOCIAL PROBLEMS THEORY DIVISION SESSIONS SOCIAL PROBLEMS THEORY DIVISION Symbolic Interaction invites article submissions from members of the SSSP Theory Division—especially manuscripts that draw on or address interactionist work on the construction of social problems.  The journal also publishes book reviews (approx. 1000 words) as well as longer review essays.  Contact the editor, Scott.Harris@slu.edu, for more information. Media Review Submissions Recognizing the multiple modalities of communication and how presentations enhance our sociological understanding of the complex realities of the 21st century, the journal Humanity & Society (http://has.sagepub.com/) seeks authors for Media Reviews. We invite reviewers of critical messages in popular films, television shows, documentaries, multimedia presentations, video games, and other forms of media. Written submissions should be approximately 1,000 words and are accepted on a rolling basis. The journal welcomes reviewers from diverse backgrounds and with diverse perspectives, including activists, graduate students, and practitioners in fields other than sociology. To review for Humanity & Society, please contact the Media Review Editor, Bhoomi K. Thakore, at bhoomi.thakore@elmhurst.edu with your background information and suggested review topic. Joseph Wallerstein Doctoral Student in Sociology Harvard University Graduate Student Paper Award Winner Each year, the Social Problems Theory Division recognizes graduate student research with the Graduate Student Paper Award. This year, the award will be presented to Joseph Wallerstein for his paper, The Pity Economy: Panhandling and the Valorization of Misfortune. Research worthy of this honor must “make an original and innovative contribution to the theoretical understanding of social problems.” This manuscript is scheduled to be presented in Session 54, New Work in Social Problems Theory II. Wallerstein uses ethnographic fieldwork to depict how panhandlers develop interactional routines to fit societal expectations of a worthy panhandler with a morally redeemable identity in order to collect money. It depicts how the economy of pity precedes the development of the pitied identity among panhandlers. This research has implications for how we understand the complex dynamics of social problems. I would like to thank Jared Del Rosso, who served as the Chair, and Brian Monahan for working on this committee. 2018 AWARD WINNER REFERENCES & CREDITS PHOTOGRAPH OF JOSEPH WALLERSTEIN (PAGE THREE) With permission of Joseph Wallerstein.