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SOC 267
Rethinking Deviance
SOC 267 FA
Not Currently Offered
Many social behaviors have gone through cycles of
stigmatization and acceptance. Cigarette smoking was once
considered glamorous, even healthful; fat bodies were
desirable; and it was not uncommon to have one more drink
for the road. Today, the social definition of smoking has
reversed; the ideal body is slender and athletic; and
driving under the influence is a serious crime. Why and how
have definitions of deviance undergone such reversals? What
is the role of social movements in shaping new definitions?
How do some behaviors come to be defined as crimes and
others as mental illness? How do people who have been
labeled deviant cope with that label?
The course begins with an overview of sociological theories
of deviance. It then introduces a more complex way of
understanding and defining deviance in relation to interest-
group conflict. Substantive readings will offer examples of
the shifting nature of deviant behavior. Course requirements
include short essays, class presentations, and a research
paper.
MAJOR READINGS
BOOKS:
Kai Erikson, WAYWARD PURITANS
Erving Goffman, STIGMA
Ronald Troyer & G. Markle, CIGARETTES
Excerpts from:
Peter Conrad & J. Schneider, DEVIANCE AND MEDICALIZATION
Joseph Gusfield, SYMBOLIC CRUSADE
Howard Becker, OUTSIDERS
Michael Foucalt, DISCIPLINE AND PUNISHMENT
ARTICLES:
H. Becker, "Becoming a Marijuana User"
Donald Black, "Crime as Social Control"
William Chambliss, "A Sociological Analysis of the Law of
Vagrancy"
Peter Conrad, "The Discovery of Hyperkinesis"
John Galliher and A. Walker, "The Puzzle of the Social
Origins of the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937"
Penelope McLord & D. Taub, "Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia"
Steven Pfohl, "The Discovery of Child Abuse"
Craig Reinaman, "Mothers Against Drunk Driving"
David Rosenhan, "On being sane in insane places"
EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS
Short essays, class
presentations, and a research paper.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS
Unless
preregistered students attend the first class meeting or
communicate directly with the instructor prior to the first
class, they will be dropped from the class list. NOTE:
Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form to the
Registrar's Office.
COURSE FORMAT: Discussion Lecture
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Level: UG Credit: 1.00
Gen Ed Area & Dept: SBS SOC
Prerequisites:
SOC 151
Last Updated on MAR-22-1999
Contact wesmaps@wesleyan.edu to
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Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459