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Home , Criminology, Deviance (sociology)

OF AND SOCY S141

June 29th – July 31st (Session B) Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:00PM – 4:15PM (via Zoom)

Instructor: Tony Cheng ([email protected]) Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays by appointment

COURSE GOALS

Welcome to the Sociology of Crime and Deviance! This course introduces key theories and concepts in the sociological study of crime and deviance. We will examine how attributes or behaviors are defined as deviant, the social responses and consequences of doing so, and the role of inequality, , lifestyles, culture, and identities in these processes. Rather than providing you with hard facts about crime and deviance, we will develop analytic tools that will equip us to dissect, understand, and explain crime-related issues from a sociological perspective.

This course is divided into three parts. In Part I, we will read foundational texts in establishing . In Part II, we will explore theories aiming to explain deviance, as well as more modern-day applications and case studies of those theories. Finally, in Part III, we will cover various ways to control deviance. As we progress through each part, we will unpack various methodological approaches, institutional contexts, and case studies that will help us explain why people engage in deviance and how it is dealt with. Because this is a Summer Session course, materials that would typically be covered in two classes are now condensed and covered in one.

The class format will feature a mixture of lectures, discussions, and activities. We will typically start each class with a short lecture about the main theories, arguments, and findings from the readings assigned. We will then collectively engage the texts by discussing your reactions and critiques, putting the readings into conversation with one another, and relating them to the general themes of the course. Along the way, we will unpack core concepts through various activities, such as debates and presentations. This will help you process, understand, and apply the readings to the questions of the course and to your own broader intellectual interests beyond.

Due to COVID-19, this class will be held completely online. As we navigate the course together, I always welcome any feedback on how to improve the flow of our online class. If any personal issues arise during the course, please communicate with me. My goal is to make this class welcoming, thought-provoking, and exciting, especially during these uncertain times.

REQUIREMENTS

1. Attendance, Participation, Preparation: 20% 2. Discussion Questions: 20% 3. Midterm Paper and Presentation: 25% 4. Final Paper and Presentation: 35%

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1. Attendance, Participation, Preparation (20%): Students are required to attend every class session. This is particularly important for Summer Session, as semester-long courses are condensed into one month. For class to be successful, students are expected to read and reflect upon the readings in advance; arrive prepared to discuss the readings; and contribute to discussions by asking questions, answering questions, and constructively commenting on the ideas of others. Activities conducted in class will count towards this final score.

2. Discussion Questions (20%): Please prepare at least three discussion questions/comments based on the readings and post them to Canvas by midnight before each class. These questions are opportunities for you to engage the readings by identifying aspects that puzzle you, you disagree with, you do not understand, or that you find interesting. Feel free to engage any aspect of the day’s reading, but the question should discuss and reflect knowledge of the reading’s argument and evidence. You can also respond to comments/questions written by your fellow students. While we will not discuss every student’s discussion questions in class, this exercise will facilitate more dynamic conversations overall.

3. Midterm Paper and Presentation (25%): For the midterm paper (5-6 double-spaced pages), please select one of the theories discussed in class, describe it (e.g. strengths, weaknesses, assumptions, causal logic/visual representation, etc.), and apply it to a recent news story. The midterm paper is due July 14 and you will also give a brief presentation on your paper in class.

4. Final Paper and Presentation (35%): The final paper (10-12 double-spaced pages) should broadly engage the course material. In the paper, you are expected to go beyond demonstrating comprehension of the material and to develop your own arguments about the readings, the ideas they present, and the themes that link them together. You must develop your own topic and argument for the paper, which requires approval by July 21. You are not expected to use outside sources, but if you do, they must be cited. Remember that you will be primarily evaluated based on your analysis of course material. The final paper is due on July 30 and you will also give a brief presentation on your paper in class.

STATEMENTS AND POLICIES

Grading : By default, you will be assigned a letter grade. However, you may petition to take the course Credit/D/Fail under the normal Yale Summer Session regulations.

Academic Integrity: This course applies strict standards of academic integrity and anyone suspected of breaking them will be reported to the executive committee of Yale College. . For more information about Yale Summer Session’s policy on academic integrity, see: https://summer.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/2019SSStudentHandbook012519.pdf . For further guidance on what constitutes plagiarism, please refer to the Yale College Writing Center: http://ctl.yale.edu/writing/using-sources/understanding-and-avoiding- plagiarism/what-plagiarism).

2 Late Submissions: Without a Dean’s Excuse, late submissions will be penalized one point per day up to forty points for the assignment. If you know you cannot make a deadline ahead of time, speak with me beforehand and we can agree on an alternative submission date and method.

Correcting Grading : Students who believe their papers have been graded incorrectly should request a correction in writing to the course instructor. The request should 1) be made within a week after the graded assignment was returned, 2) clearly and succinctly the believed to have occurred, and 3) include resubmission of the entire graded work (paper, exam, or other assignment). If the request arises because different students have seemingly been graded differently, all the affected students must submit their work.

Accommodations for Students with : If you have established accommodations with the Resource Office on Disabilities (ROD), please let me know and we can discuss what adjustments are necessary/possible given the online nature of the course.

Diversity Statement: We strive to create an environment that supports and affirms diversity in all manifestations, including race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, , status, region/country of origin, and political orientation.

Wellness and Health Statement: As your professor, I your health and wellbeing. In order to succeed in this class, in college, and beyond, you must work hard and balance the work with rest, exercise, and attention to your mental and physical health. This class will be challenging, but take the time to also enjoy your summer.

This statement takes on added significance given the uncertainty, adjustments, and toll caused by COVID-19. If any issues arise during the course of the class, please communicate with me and if necessary, we will figure out together how to modify coursework.

COURSE MATERIALS

In an effort to cut student costs, this course does not require any textbook. All course readings will be either posted on Canvas or available online through Yale Library (if you are using a computer connected to the Yale network and searching for them on Google Scholar, you will see links that allow you to download them). To be clear, you will not be required to purchase any book or reading packet.

3 SCHEDULE Note: Readings may be adjusted depending on course progress

Part I: Origins of Criminology

JUNE 30: Foundational Readings . Understanding Criminological Theory: A Guide for Readers . Beccaria, Cesare. 1764. “An Essay on and ” (Introduction, Chapters 1-8) . Lombroso, Cesare. 1911. “The Criminal Man” (Chapter 1)

Part II: Explaining Deviance

JUNE 30: Rational Choice and Routine Activities Theory . Cornish, Derek and Ronald Clarke. 1986. The Reasoning Criminal: Rational Choice Perspectives on Offending (Chapters 1 and 2). . Cohen, Lawrence and Marcus Felson. 1979. “ and Crime Rate Trends: A Routine Activity Approach.” American Sociological Review 44(4):588-608. . Brantingham, Paul. 2012. “The Theory of Target Search,” The Oxford Handbook of Criminological Theory. . Ronald Clarke. 1995. “Situational .” Crime and 19:91-150.

JULY 2: and Strain Theory . Merton, Robert. 1938. “ and Anomie.” American Sociological Review, 3(5):672-682. . Cohen, Albert. 1955. Delinquent Boys: The Culture of the Gang (Chapter 3). . Messner, Steven and Richard Rosenfeld. 1994. Crime and the (Chapters 1 and 4). . Agnew, Robert. 2010. “A General Strain Theory of Terrorism.” Theoretical Criminology, 14(2):131-153. . Contreras, Randol. 2012. The Stickup Kids: Race, Drugs, Violence, and the American Dream (Introduction).

JULY 2: Social Disorganization Theory . Shaw, Clifford and Henry McKay. 1942. in Urban Areas (Chapter 3). . Sampson Robert and , “A Theory of Race, Crime, and Urban Inequality” in Community Justice: An Emerging Field (Chapter 5). . Sampson, Robert J., Stephen W. Raudenbush, and Felton Earls. 1997. “Neighborhoods and Violent Crime: A Multilevel Study of .” Science, 277(5328):918-924.

JULY 7: Control Theory . Hirschi, Travis. 1969. Causes of Delinquency (Chapters 1 and 2). . Sykes, Gresham M and David Matza. 1957. “Techniques of Neutralization: A Theory of Delinquency.” American Sociological Review, 22(6):664-670. . Gottfredson, Michael and Travis Hirschi. A General Theory of Crime (Chapter 5) . Benson, Michael. 1985. “Denying the Guilty Mind: Accounting for Involvement in a White‐Collar Crime.” Criminology, 23(4):583-607.

JULY 7: Theory/Social Learning/Subcultural . Sutherland, Edwin. “A Theory of Differential Association” in Criminological Theory: Past to Present: Essential Readings . Anderson, Elijah. 1999. Code of the Street (Chapter 2) . Kreager, Derek. 2007. “Unnecessary Roughness. School Sports, Peer Networks, and Male Adolescent Violence.” American Sociological Review 72: 705-724.

4 JULY 9: . Goffman, Erving. 1963. Stigma: Notes on the of Spoiled Identity (Chapter 1 and 2) . Becker, Howard. 1963. Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance (Chapters 1 and 8) . Becker, Howard. 1953. “Becoming a Marihuana User.” American Journal of Sociology, 59(3):235-242.

JULY 9: Gender and Deviance . Chesney-Lind, Meda. 1989. “Girls’ Crime and Woman’s Place: Toward a Feminist Model of Female Delinquency.” Crime & Delinquency, 35(1):5-29. . Steffensmeier, Darrell, and Emilie Allan. 1996. “Gender and Crime: Toward a Gendered Theory of Female Offending.” Annual Review of Sociology, 22(1):459-487.

JULY 14: Midterm Paper and Presentation In Class: Presentation of midterm papers Anonymous student feedback on professor and course

Part II: Controlling Deviance

JULY 16: Moral Panics and . Cohen, Stanley. 1972. Folk Devils and Moral Panics: The Creation of the Mods and Rockers (Chapter 2). . Berger, Dan. 2009. “Constructing Crime, Framing Disaster: Routines of and Crisis in Hurricane Katrina.” & , 11(4):491-510. . Simon, Jonathan. 2006. Governing through Crime. (Introduction, Chapters 1 and 2)

JULY 16: and Social Control . Foucault, Michel. 1963. Birth of the Clinic: An of Medical Perception (Introduction) . Conrad, Peter. 1975. “The Discovery of Hyperkinesis: Notes on the Medicalization of Deviant Behavior.” Social Problems, 23(1):12-21. . Conrad, Peter. 1985. “The Meaning of Medications: Another Look at .” & Medicine, 20(1):29-37. . Lara-Millán, Armando. 2014. “Public Emergency Room Overcrowding in the Era of Mass .” American Sociological Review, 79(5):866-887. . Gong, Neil. 2019. “Between Tolerant Containment and Concerted Constraint: Managing Madness for the City and the Privileged Family.” American Sociological Review, 84(4):664-689.

JULY 21: Schools and Social Control . Rios, Victor. 2011. Punished: Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boys (Chapters 3 and 5). . Musto, Michela. 2019. “Brilliant or Bad: The Gendered Social Construction of Exceptionalism in Early Adolescence.” American Sociological Review, 84(3):369-393. . Khan, Shamus, et al. 2018. “‘I Didn’t Want to be “That Girl”’: The Social Risks of Labeling, Telling, and Reporting Sexual Assault.” Sociological Science 5:432–60.

JULY 21: Guns and Social Control . Black, Donald. 1983. “Crime as Social Control.” American Sociological Review 48(1):34–45. . Zimring, Frank. 2003. “Continuity and Change in the American Gun Debate” in Evaluating Gun Policy: Effects on Crime and Violence. . Cook, Philip, Jens Ludwig, and David Hemenway. 1997. “The Gun Debate’s New Mythical Number: How Many Defensive Uses Per Year?” Journal of Policy Analysis & Management, 16(3):463-469. • Hartman, Margaret, “What Makes a Gun an Assault Rifle?”, http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2013/01/what-makes-a-gun-an-assault-weapon.html In Class: Activity on school shootings as combination of previous two class sessions

5 JULY 23: Surveillance and Social Control . Foucault, Michel. 1975. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the (Part 1, Chapter 1 & Part 3, Chapter 3). . Brayne, Sarah. 2017. “Big Data Surveillance: The Case of Policing.” American Sociological Review, 82(5):977-1008.

JULY 23: and Social Control . Pager, Devah. 2003. “The Mark of a Criminal Record.” American Journal of Sociology 108(5):937- 975. . Gopnik, Adam on John Pfaff’s “Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration-and How to Achieve Real Reform,” https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/04/10/how-we- misunderstand-mass-incarceration. . Van Cleve, Nicole Gonzalez. 2016. Crook County (Chapters 1 and 2) . Kohler-Hausmann, Issa. 2013. “Misdemeanor Justice: Control without Conviction. American Journal of Sociology, 119(2):351-393. . Braithwaite, John. 1985. “White Collar Crime.” Annual Review of Sociology, 11(1):1-25.

JULY 28: Policing and Social Control . Black, Donald. 1970. “Production of Crime Rates.” American Sociological Review, 35(4):733-748. . Stuart, Forrest. 2016. Down, Out, and Under Arrest: Policing and Everyday Life in Skid Row (Chapters 1 and 2) . Herring, Chris. 2019. “Complaint-Oriented Policing: Regulating Homelessness in Public Space.” American Sociological Review 84(5):769–800. . Armenta, Amada. 2016. “Between Public Service and Social Control: Policing Dilemmas in the Era of Immigration Enforcement. Social Problems, 63(1):111-126.

JULY 28: Alternatives to Policing . Seabrook, John on David Kennedy’s “Don’t Shoot: One Man, a Street Fellowship, and the End of Violence in Inner-City America,” www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/06/22/dont-shoot-2 . Sharkey, Patrick, Gerard Torrats-Espinosa, and Delaram Takyar. 2017. “Community and the Crime Decline: The Causal Effect of Local Nonprofits on Violent Crime.” American Sociological Review 82(6):1214–40. . Cheng, Tony. 2017. “Violence Prevention and Targeting the Elusive Gang Member.” Law & Society Review 51(1):42–69. In Class: Presentations on “Establishing Social Control Over our Agents of Social Control” 1. Pick a campaign from “Campaign Zero”: https://www.joincampaignzero.org/#vision 2. Identify and describe the problematic aspect of policing that the campaign focuses on; 3. Identify and describe the theory of deviance implied by the campaign—if none of the ones we’ve studied apply, explain why and describe the theory of deviance you believe it is; 4. Evaluate the promise and challenges of the campaign in controlling the deviance.

JULY 30: Final Paper Due In Class: Presentation of final papers

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