The study of deviant behavior is rooted in attempts to explain criminal behavior, such as robbery, theft, and assault, which are often committed by lower-income persons. Eventually the field broadened to include the study of embezzlement, fraud and other criminal acts that upper class business-people engage in. At the same time, the field moved to study behavior that was not criminal, but simply different from the prevailing norms, which is how sociologists define deviance. This expanded view of deviance requires new ways of thinking about and explaining deviant behavior, and ultimately requires asking questions about why a certain behavior is considered deviant or acceptable, and questions about who gets to make that judgement. In this class, we examine all these fields of inquiry, and the theoretical models that develop from them.

Prerequisite: SOCI1010 or SOCI1020