SOCI 5500 Deviance and Social Control

Spring 2012 SOCI 5500 – Deviance and Social Control East Tennessee State University M 4-6:50, Rogers-Stout 224

Instructor: Dr. Joseph Baker Office: Rogers-Stout 223F Office hours: Monday 1:30-3:30 PM; Wednesday 12:30-2 PM; otherwise by appointment E-mail: [email protected] Website: https://faculty.etsu.edu/bakerjo Phone: 439-6648

Overview

Objectives At the completion of this course, you are expected to be able to:  Be familiar with sociological perspectives on deviance  Understand the dynamics of rule-making, enforcement, and resulting “stigma contests”  Think critically about how deviance is defined, policed, and punished  Discuss how identities and selves are implicated in deviance, both theoretically and practically  Know the changes that have occurred in state-sanctioned punishment over the last century  Evaluate the role of the study of deviance to the larger enterprise of sociology, especially how it informs the study and understanding of other areas of social life

Expectations You are responsible for your learning, meaning you need to have read the assigned material before class. Maintain mutual respect for all involved in the class – learning is collaborative. Ask questions and be willing to engage in discussion! Do assignments on time. Keep up with schedule changes and the current state of the class.

Required Texts Erikson, Kai. Wayward Puritans: A Study in the Sociology of Deviance. Allyn & Bacon.

Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish, 2nd edition. Vintage.

Goffman, Erving. Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. Touchstone.

Humphreys, Laud. Tearoom Trade: Impersonal Sex in Public Places, 2nd edition. Aldine Transaction. Moskos, Peter. Cop in the Hood. Princeton University Press.

Western, Bruce. Punishment and Inequality in America. Russell Sage Foundation.

Additional Readings will be provided online in .pdf or .doc format

Electronic devices—including but not limited to cell phones, laptops, PDAs, spectrometers, etc. —are not permitted in class. Use of phones during assignments or tests is considered cheating. Seriously, don’t talk, text, type, tweet or anything else these newfangled phones can do during class.

Grading A = 920-1000, A- = 900-919, B+ = 880-899, B = 820-879, B- = 800-819, C+ = 780-799, C = 720-779, C- = 700-719, D = 600-699 F = 599 and under

Reaction papers: 250 points, 25% of final grade Class leadership: 250 points, 25% of final grade Class participation: 100 points, 10% of final grade Research Paper: 400 points, 40% of final grade

Reaction papers: 3 to 4 times during the semester you will write 5 page maximum reaction papers on the assigned reading for the week. Each week two people will be selected by draw to write the next week’s reaction papers. These papers must be completed by midnight the Sunday before class. The paper will be e-mailed to the instructor and all classmates. The papers are intended as extended discussions of the theoretical, empirical, and practical topics presented in the text. Critiques and extensions of the ideas presented are encouraged. The papers will be graded on depth of reading and understanding, as well as basic grammar and writing. Given that there is a max but no min to the assignment, use the papers as an opportunity to hone your writing by trying to distill the important matters on the topic at hand into clear, readable, and insightful commentary. These papers collectively are worth a maximum of 250 points.

Class leadership: Each week, 2 students will be selected at (nearly) random to lead discussion over the assigned text for the week. Class leaders will not be known before class, but rather will be selected by draw at the beginning of the discussion. Students who wrote the reaction papers for the week are ineligible for class leadership. Importantly, this means that you need to prepare each week as though you are leading discussion. The best way to be prepared is to take notes as you read, create outlines, read and ponder the reaction papers of your peers, and make lists of interesting topics, implications, or questions raised by the text(s). You will lead class 3 or 4 times throughout the semester, collectively worth a maximum of 250 points.

Class Participation: In addition to writing papers and leading discussions, you will be graded on class participation in general. This will be based on: 1) attendance; 2) willingness to discuss topics in class; and 3) quality of discussion. Regarding the last of these criteria, topics and points drawing directly on the text in question will be graded highly. Participation will be worth a maximum of 100 points. Research paper: At the end of the semester there will be a 12-15 page essay (3000 words minimum), not including references, will be due. Use standard margins (1” all sides) and fonts (Times New Roman, 12 pt).

You will pick a specific area of inquiry or a theoretical perspective/issue in the study of deviance and provide an exploration of the area, or a critical evaluation of the theory. Please check the appropriateness of your topic with me before starting on the paper. Papers are required to have at least ten sources from books or academic journal articles. The paper is worth a maximum of 400 points.

Late Work Policy: Work turned in past the due date will be penalized 10% off the overall points available for the assignment per each day it is late.

Extra Credit: There will be no extra credit assignments available in this class.

Schedule The schedule given is tentative and can be altered at any point. You will be informed if and when changes to the schedule need to be made. If you miss a class, then check online (D2L) for updates. You are expected to have read the relevant material by the date listed (i.e. Chapters 4-5 of Wayward Puritans and “Why Salem Made Sense” by next Monday).

Week 1 M 1/23 Topics: Course overview, syllabus, introduction to sociological perspectives on deviance Reading: Chapters 1-3 of Wayward Puritans

Week 2 M 1/30 Topic: The “functionality” of deviance Readings: Chapters 4-5 of Wayward Puritans; “Why Salem Made Sense” provided online

Week 3 M 2/6 Topic: Recognition and management of deviance Reading: Stigma

Week 4 M 2/13 Topic: Reactions to deviance Readings: Excerpts from Outsiders provided online; “Which Side was Becker On?” provided online

Week 5 M 2/20 Topic: The dynamics of covert deviance Readings: Chapters 1-4 and of Tearoom Trade; Excerpt from Seductions of Crime provided online

Week 6 M 2/27 Topic: Management of covert deviance; deviant research Reading: Chapters 5-8 and postscripts of Tearoom Trade

Week 7 3/5-3/10 No class – spring break

Week 8 M 3/12 Topic: Punishment and control Reading: Parts 1 and 2 of Discipline and Punish

Week 9 M 3/19 Topic: Punishment and society Readings: Parts 3 and 4 of Discipline and Punish; “Cultural Criminology” provided online

Week 10 M 3/26 Topic: Modalities of social control (Stanley Cohen) Readings: Excerpt from Visions of Social Control provided online; Excerpt from Against Criminology provided online

Week 11 M 4/2 Topic: Gender, sexuality, and deviance Readings: Excerpt from Labeling Women Deviant provided online; Excerpt from Peacocks, Chameleons, and Centaurs provided online

Week 12 M 4/9 Topic: Policing in urban America Reading: Cop in the Hood

Week 13 M 4/16 Topic: Evolution of punishment in the U.S. Readings: Chapters 1-3 of Punishment and Inequality; “Explaining the Rise of U.S. Incarceration Rates” provided online

Week 14 M 4/23 Topics: Stratification and incarceration Readings: Chapter 4-7 of Punishment and Inequality; “The New Peculiar Institution” provided online

Final Paper due: Monday April 30th (by midnight) Academic Integrity

Cheating in any form will not be tolerated. This includes, but is not limited to, copying homework, falsifying research, and plagiarizing material. Copying someone else’s paraphrase is plagiarism. If you use information from a source you need to cite that source. Cheating in any form will result in failure for the course.

The point of this class is to collectively engage in the practice of sociological thought—to do so you must decide to engage the material to the best of your abilities. The value of the knowledge and experience you gain from the class is directly related to the amount of effort (reading, thinking, writing, and talking) you put in.