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2010/1 Module Catalogue
 Module Code: SOC3014 Module Title: DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL CONTROL
Module Provider: Sociology Short Name: SOC321
Level: HE3 Module Co-ordinator: JOHNSON PJ Dr (Sociology)
Number of credits: 20 Number of ECTS credits: 10
 
Module Availability

Year

Assessment Pattern
Two 2000-word essays (25% each) and a written examination (50%).
Module Overview

This module, concerned with the complex relationship between deviance and social order, covers a range of theoretical and substantive areas. It considers the implications of variation and change in definitions of, and attitudes toward, deviant behaviour. As such, it complements sociological analysis with legal, criminological, psychological and economic perspectives in order to consider crime and deviance as a practical, as well as theoretical, ‘problem’. 

 

 

 

The module aims 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. It covers:

 

 

 

 

1.    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.

 

 

2.    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’.

 

 

3.    The patterns of deviance:  Women and crime.  Substance abuse.  Violent crime.  White collar and professional crime.  Organized crime.  Sexual deviance.

 

 

4.    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.

 

 

 

 

Each lecture is matched by a seminar in the form of class exercises, discussions or student papers. 

 

 

Prerequisites/Co-requisites
Module Aims

Learning Outcomes

Students completing this module should:

 

1.    Be familiar with the sociological conceptualisation of deviance and social control and introduce students to the perspective taken on these matters in the cognate disciplines of law, psychology and economics.

 

2.    Have an understanding of specialized approaches to standard research methods which have been developed in criminological research.

 

3.    Be acquainted with contemporary criminal justice policy debates in .

 

 

Module Content

1.    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.

 

2.    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’.

 

3.    The patterns of deviance:  Women and crime.  Substance abuse.  Violent crime.  White collar and professional crime.  Organized crime.  Sexual deviance.

 

4.    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 alternatives.

 

Methods of Teaching/Learning

Lectures

Selected Texts/Journals

Becker H, (1963), The Outsiders, Free Press

 

Downes D and Rock P, (2003), Understanding Deviance (Fourth Edition), Oxford University Press

 

E. Carabine; P.Iganski; M. Lee; K. Plummer; N. South (2004) Criminology: a sociological introduction (*recommended text)

 

Fielding N, (1991), The Police and Social Conflict, Athlone

 

Foucault, M (1977) Discipline and Punish, Penguin

 

Innes, M (2003) Understanding Social Control. Open University Press

 

Maguire et al. (2002) Oxford Handbook of Criminology, Oxford University Press

 

Newburn, T. (2003) Crime and Criminal Justice Policy, Longman/Pearson

 

 

Last Updated

September 2010