Sociology of Deviant Behavior

Course Description

Social processes in the creation and maintenance of deviant populations: classification, objectification of social meanings, functions of subcultures and social outcomes of the deviance-ascription process. Includes core sociological concepts, methods, and theories.

Syllabus

Student Learning Outcomes, Goals, Objectives:

Students successfully completing this course will be able to:

  • Understand how deviance is generally defined (Quizzes, Exam)
  • Demonstrate knowledge about how particular deviant acts, behaviors, and conditions are defined (Quizzes, Exam)
  • Demonstrate knowledge about the prevalence of specific “deviant” acts (Quizzes, Exam)
  • Apply theoretical explanations of deviance (Quizzes, Exam)
  • Identify links between deviance and other social phenomenon (Quizzes)
  • Recognize common research methods used by sociologists who study deviance (Quizzes, Exam)

Course Grading Information:

Activity/Performance Measure Percentage/Points
Quizzes 60%
Exams 30%
Final 10%

Grading Scale:

Percentage Letter Grade
94-100%A
90-93.99%A-
88-89.99%B+
83-87.99%B
80-82.99%B-
78-79.99%C+
73-77.99%C
70-72.99%C-
68-69.99%D+
63-67.99%D
60-62.99%D-
00-59.99%F

Attendance/Participation:

Attendance/participation is not a graded component included in the student's final grade for this course.

Course Materials Purchased by the Students:

Thio, Alex, Jim Taylor and Martin Schwartz. 2013. Deviant Behavior, any edition from 10th to more recent should be fine for this class. Publisher: Allyn & Bacon.

Scholarly Perspectives

This course engages diverse scholarly perspectives to develop critical thinking, analysis, and debate and inclusion of a reading does not imply endorsement.