| Module Code: SOC3014 |
Module Title: DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL CONTROL |
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Module Provider: Sociology
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Short Name: SOC321
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Previous Short Name: SOC321
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Level: HE3
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Module Co-ordinator: JOHNSON PJ Dr (Sociology)
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Number of credits: 20
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Number of ECTS credits: 10
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| Module Delivery |
| Throughout the year |
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| Assessment Requirements |
Two essays on topics of the student’s choice, approximately 2,000 words each. Three hour written papers in the Spring Semester.
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| Module Overview |
| Deviance is the very stuff of social order. While sociologists have long been occupied with the implications of variation and change in definitions of, and attitudes toward, deviant behaviour, this course is not confined to the sociological perspective, recognising that crime is a practical as well as a theoretical problem, the course embraces legal, criminological, psychological and economic perspectives on crime and deviance. It offers students the opportunity to debate relevant issues on the basis of a comprehensive analysis of this controversial field. |
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| Prerequisites/Co-requisites |
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| Module Aims |
The course aim is to expose students to the range of perspectives brought to bear on the problems of deviation, order and social control, with special reference to the case of criminal offending.
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| Learning Outcomes |
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| Module Content |
The concept of deviance:
Consensus and conflict theories of order. The functions of deviance. The emergence of law. Political and economic interests and the law. Official statistics and the dark figure of crime. Self-report surveys, victimology and sexism. Class and race bias.
The theories of deviance:
Biological and psychological determinism. Social ecology. Anomie, strain and differential association. Subcultural theory. Interactionism and labelling theory. The ‘New Criminology’ and ‘left realism’.
The patterns of deviance:
Women and crime. Substance abuse. Violent crime. White collar and professional crime. Organized crime. Sexual deviance.
The control of deviance:
Professional and occupational groups in social control and criminal justice. The police. Probation officers and social workers: Care and control. Deviancy amplification; the mass media and crime. The courts; sentencing patterns and variations. Plea-bargaining and negotiated justice. Punishment; prison and the alternatives. |
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| Methods of Teaching/Learning |
Each lecture is matched by a seminar featuring either class exercises, discussions or student papers. There is a visit to a magistrates or crown court. |
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| Selected Texts/Journals |
Becker H, (1963), The Outsiders, Free Press
Box S, (1980), Deviance, Reality and Society, 2nd ed, Holt-Saunders
Downes D and Rock P, (1988), Understanding Deviance, Clarendon
Fielding N, (1991), The Police and Social Conflict, Athlone
Taylor I, Walton P & Young J, (1973), The New Criminology, Routledge |
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| Last Updated |
| 15th August 2006 |
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