SOC 444:  DEVIANCE AND CONTROL

 

Instructor:  Eva Brown (evabrown@adams.edu)

 

 

Office Hours:   MW 11:00am -12:00noon

                          TTh    9:30am -10:30am

                          Tues.  5:00pm -  6:00pm

 

Phone:  587-8129 (personal office); Room 314 ES Building

              587-7771 (main office of Sociology); Room 329 ES Building

              

Required Texts:

 

Deviance and Control: A Reader.  Ronald Weitzer, 2002.  New York:  McGraw-Hill

 

Stigma: How We Treat Outsiders.  Gerhard Falk, 2001.  Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books

 

 

Course Description:

 

This course examines the nature of rule-making and rule-breaking in modern societies.  Included in the discussion of deviance and control will be the theoretical considerations of the causes and consequences of deviance.

 

 

Course Statement:

 

Through lecture, textbook material, handouts, and class discussion, you will be provided an overview of the sociological study of deviance.  It will be your task to analyze, synthesize, and organize the concepts, theory, research, and processes that constitute the field of sociology of deviance.

 

Deviance is not an objective process, nor does it exists in a vacuum.  It affects, and is affected by, major industries, organizations, and institutions.  As a class, we will situate deviance in the framework of larger political, economic, and sociocultural forces.  Definitions of deviance are part of the overall social organization of American society.

 

Our concerns are the following:

 

  1. to examine deviance as it exists, which means moving beyond our own values, beliefs, and experiences and seeing the social forces that impact deviance, deviants, social control systems, and related issues
  2. to critically think about and analyze deviance as well as U.S. culture and society as a whole


Course Objectives:

 

  1. Discuss the major areas of theory, research, social policy and practice which affect deviant behavior and those who engage in deviance

 

  1. Describe the various ways deviant behavior is created and defined

 

  1. Examine how the social structure influences, and is influenced by, deviance

 

  1. Distinguish the effects of race and ethnicity, gender, social class, and group membership in general on defining deviance and deviants

 

  1. Examine the myths, stereotypes, and stigmas of those who engage in deviant behaviors – including the sources and perpetuation of these

 

  1. Identify the rites, rituals, and customs (the culture) of various deviant groups

 

  1. Analyze the various ways societies respond to, and attempt to control, deviance

 

  1. Develop the ability to write sociologically about deviance

 

 

Attendance:

 

It is my expectation that you will have regular attendance, be on time, and be prepared for class.  Your attendance is a vital factor in class discussion and provides a fundamental means of integrating and organizing the material presented in text, lecture, and through other sources.

 

 

It is your responsibility to ensure that you have signed the roll for the day.  Do not interrupt class to do so.  Arrange to sign the roll immediately following the class for which you arrived late.

 

 

Information missed may have direct consequences on your grade.  It is your responsibility to obtain any information missed as the result of an absence.  It is impossible for me to give you a personal lecture on the material missed.  Find a colleague who can help you in this area.

 

 

Regardless of where I am in lecture, you should proceed in your reading according to the course calendar unless notified otherwise by me.  Thus, missing a class may cause you to miss reading assignment changes and other modifications in course requirements.

 

 

If you require course adaptations or accommodations because of a documented disability, if you have emergency information to share with me, or if you need particular arrangements in the case of the building being evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible.  My office location and hours are listed on the first page of this syllabus.

 

 

Cell phones, beepers going off, and text messaging in class are rude and inconsiderate, so make certain that all such items are cut off before class begins.

 

 

 

You must have an Adams State e-mail account and check it regularly.  Throughout the semester I will be contacting the class about various issues such as exam content, course readings, class discussions, syllabus changes, homework assignments, and possibly an extra credit assignment.  It is your responsibility to check your e-mail in order for you to receive necessary information.  As with class lecture, you are responsible for this information.

 

 

 

Examinations:

 

There are three (3) exams graded on a 100 point scale.  The format for the exams is multiple choice and short answer essays.  Material on the exams includes information from lecture, class discussion, texts, handouts, and any other sources brought to the class.  See the grading scale below for the number of points that constitute an A, B, C, etc.

 

ALL MAKE-UP EXAMS WILL BE GIVEN ON THE LAST DAY OF CLASSES!!!  Unless otherwise stated during the semester.  (See course calendar for exact date.)

 

 

 

Research Paper:

 

You are required to write a research paper on an issue related to deviance.  This will be an 8 page paper on a topic that must be approved by me.  I suggest you begin perusing the text now in order to find a topic of interest to you.  You will receive a handout on the format, content, and procedural requirements for the paper.  This assignment is worth 100 points.

 

The final draft of the research paper is due April 11.  It must be turned in by the time I begin lecture or it is late and you are automatically considered to be turning it in one day late.  In addition, an electronic copy of the paper must be submitted to Turnitin.com by class time on April 11.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE:

 

If you plagiarize someone’s work (i.e., if you turn in the same paper that someone else turned in, if you quote sentences from another source without using quotations and citing the source, if you turn in a paper that is not your individual, independent work for this specific class), you will receive an automatic ZERO for that portion of the grade.  If you do it again, you will receive an F for the course.  In addition, any assignment completed for this course should be independent and a unique paper just for this class.  You cannot turn in work that is, or has been, completed for another class or that is part of another class’s assignment.

 

 

Extra Credit:

 

In the event the class as a whole does poorly on an exam, I will offer the opportunity for a written extra credit assignment.  There is no guarantee that extra credit will be assigned, it depends on the class performance on exams.  Any extra credit offered will be assigned on the day that I return the graded exam.  You will have until the start of lecture on the day of the next class period to complete the extra credit.  Thus, if you miss and exam, you miss that extra credit opportunity.  And if you miss the day in which I hand back the graded exams, you will miss the extra credit that I assign.

 

As mentioned above in the section on attendance, you are responsible for material missed.  It is your responsibility to find out if there is extra credit and to obtain the requirements for the extra credit.  And be certain you consult a colleague who has accurate information, whether for class notes or the extra credit assignment.

 

An extra credit assignment is late if it is turned in after I have begun lecturing in the class on the day it is due.  I will not accept late extra credit assignments.  NO EXCEPTIONS!!!

 

 

If extra credit is offered, the format for the assignment(s) will be as follows:

 

-         typed

-         double-spaced

-         1 inch margins

-         12 point font

-         Times New Roman font (as in this syllabus!)

-         no cover page

-         no binders or folders; just staple in the top left corner

 

Any other specific requirements of the extra credit will be discussed in class on the day it is assigned.

 

 

Grading Scale:

 

A = 360 – 400                                     Exam #1 = 100 points

B = 320 – 359                                     Exam #2 = 100 points

C = 280 – 319                                     Exam #3 = 100 points

D = 240 – 279                                     Paper      = 100 points

F = Below 240                                     Total       = 400 points

 

 

Anything below a C on any exam or assignment, you should come see me!!!

 

 

 

Course Calendar:

 

Jan. 10

Introduction to the course

 

 

Jan. 12

Concepts, defining deviance, and sociological theory

 

 

Jan. 17

INTRODUCTORY ISSUES

 

Defining Deviance

 

1-1:  Images of Deviance and Control

 

1-2:  Moral Entrepreneurs, by Howard S. Becker

 

 

Jan. 19

THEORIES OF DEVIANCE

 

Functionalist Theory

 

2-1:  The Sociology of Deviance, by Kai Erikson

 

2-2:  Television News Magazines and Functionalism

 

Jan. 24

2-3:  Deviant Places, by Rodney Stark

 

2-4:  Broken Windows

Jan. 26

Anomie Theory

 

2-5:  Social Structure and Anomie, by Robert K. Merton

 

 

Learning Theory

 

2-7:  Differential Association Theory, by Edwin H. Sutherland

 

 

Jan. 31

Labeling Theory

 

Chapter 1:  The Production of Stigma

 

2-10:  Outsiders, by Howard S. Becker

 

 

Feb.  2

2-11:  Societal Reaction to Deviant Behavior

 

Chapter 3:  Sexual Identity as Stigma – Homosexuals as “Deviants”

 

 

 

Feb.  7

Chapter 4:  Obesity – Appearance as Stigma in a Rich Society

 

Chapter 6:  Punishment Without Crime – The Stigma of Being Old

 

 

Feb.  9

Chapter 7:  Ex Malis Eligere Minima – Choosing the Single Life

 

 

Feb. 14   EXAM #1

 

 

Feb. 16   SNOW DAY – NO CLASS!!!

 

 

Feb. 21

Conflict Theory

 

2-13:  Capitalism, Class, and Crime in America

Feb. 23

2-14:  The Police and the Black Male

 

 

Feb. 28

2-15:  Fraternities and Rape on Campus

 

 

Mar.  2

Chapter 8:  The Stigma of Race – Native Americans, Strangers in Their Own Land

 

 

Mar.  7

Chapter 10:  The Alien Among Us – The Stigma of Immigration

 

 

Mar.  9

RESEARCHING DEVIANCE

 

3-1:  Measuring Crime

 

 

Mar. 14

                 SPRING BREAK – NO CLASS!!!

Mar. 16

 

 

Mar.  21

INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXTS

 

Deviance in the Media and on the Internet

 

4-1:  Media Constructions of Crime

 

4-3:  Long on to Sex:  Erotic Cyberspace as a New Frontier

 

 

Mar. 23

Medicine and Psychiatric Institutions

 

4-4:  Medicine as an Institution of Social Control, by Peter Conrad and Joseph W.

        Schneider

 

4-5:  On Being Sane in Insane Places, by D.L. Rosenhan

 

 

Mar. 28

Chapter 2:  Mental Illness – The Ultimate Stigma

 

Mar. 30   EXAM #2

 

 

Apr.  4

Chapter 15:  “Logos,” The Meaning of Stigma and Stigmatization

 

Chapter 9:  Resentment Against Achievement – Stigmatizing Success

 

 

Apr.  6

Chapter 12:  Prostitutes – Stigma, Exploitation, and Contempt

 

 

Apr. 11   RESEARCH PAPER DUE!!!  Must be turned in by the time I begin

                lecture or it is late and you are automatically considered to be turning it in

                one day late.

               

 

Apr. 13

IDENTITY, INTERACTION, AND RESISTANCE

 

Becoming Deviant:  Identity and Behavioral Change

 

5-1:  Drifting Into Drug Dealing

 

Chapter 13:  Alcoholics and Other Addicts – The Drug Culture Rejects Its Own

 

 

Apr. 18

5-3:  Coming Out as a Transgendered Person

 

 

Managing Deviance:  Passing, Disclosure, and Neutralization

 

5-4:  Living with the Stigma

 

5-5:  Situational Ethics and Cheating Among College Students

 

 

Apr. 20

5-7:  Rapists’ Vocabulary of Motive

 

5-8:  How Women Experience Battering

 

 

Apr. 25

Fighting Back:  Organized Resistance by Deviants

 

5-11:  Political Activism Among the Disabled and Mental Patients

 

5-12:  Gay and Lesbian Movements

 

 

Apr. 27

Review for final and complete text materials

 

 

May 5   Exam #3 (Final Exam)  10:00am – 11:50am

 

 

Note:  This syllabus is “tentative” and “subject to change” in order to meet the needs of specific situations that might arise in the course of the semester.