SOC 209 Deviance and Social Control

THIS COURSE HAS BEEN CANCELLED!

Deviance, like pornography, seems hard to define but easy to recognize. As we explore ideas about what deviance is, however, the concept becomes increasingly elusive. How do major theorists define deviance? How are deviants identified, labeled, and processed by the social system? Should we think of deviants as evil, sick, confused, or simply powerless? What social forces influence those who have the power to define deviance? The course will explore three levels of analysis: theories that identify the causes of deviance; forms of behavior that are commonly considered deviant; and the means by which deviance is regulated at the individual, community, and institutional levels. Topics will include: changing conceptions of mental illness, deviant bodies and stigma; the medicalization of "problem behaviors" such as child abuse; theories of punishment; and the social impact of the decarceration debate. The course will focus on the American context and draw on historical and ethnographic accounts of deviant identity, courts, asylums, police work, and prisons. Format: discussion seminar. Requirements: several short papers and a take-home final examination. No prerequisites. Open to first-year students.

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