This course examines contemporary social problems and issues in diverse empirical contexts. It introduces different sociological perspectives and theoretical approaches to analyse social problems such as: poverty, distant suffering and humanitarian crises, isolation and anomie, racism, and precarious labour. In addition to analysing specific case studies of social problems, it presents a critique of neoliberalism and its role in solving—and amplifying—social problems. It also identifies the media's role in constructing—and constituting—social problems in an age of globalization and digitization.