After this course, students will be able to understand the kinds of questions sociologists have typically addressed and the role that sociology plays in contributing to our understanding of deviance and social control. In addition, students will understand the connection between the individual and society, the methods sociologists use to answer questions about society, as well as their role in making, maintaining, or changing society.

This course examines the ways in which certain forms of behavior are defined as being outside the bounds of the "normal" or acceptable, and the ways in which members of social groupings attempt to control such behavior.  Among the issues we will consider are the effects of deviant labels on identity, pathways to deviance, and alternative constructions of deviance. 

A variety of forms of deviance will be discussed, including deviance related to crime, sex, religion, drugs, body art, and mental illness.  We will pursue these topics from a sociological framework which seeks to understand the meaning of such behavior for the people involved.  No effort will be made to pass moral judgment on the behaviors or the people engaged in them.