“You cannot afford to think of being here to receive an education; you will do much better to think of yourselves as being here to claim one.” – Adrienne Rich

Deviant Behavior

SOCIOLOGY 3243
Fall 2006                                            
M, W, F 10-10:50
CH 254

 

Dr. Lara Foley

E-mail: lara-foley@utulsa.edu
Office: Chapman 210

Office Hours: M, W, F 11-12 or by appointment
Phone: 631-2050

Webpage: http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~lara-foley

Course Ojectives
In this course we will ask questions such as:
• What is deviance?
• Who decides/defines what is deviant?
• Are the same behaviors/people considered deviant in all historical errors, in all social contexts?
• Why do some people engage in deviant behavior?
• How does society respond to deviant behavior?
• What measures does society use to regulate, prevent, and punish deviance? And what are the consequences of these efforts?

Required Texts
Rubington, Earl and Martin S. Weinberg (eds). 2005. Deviance: The Interactionist Perspective. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Instructor’s Expectations: As a student in this course you will be expected to:
1. Attend class on a regular basis.
2. Be prepared for class: have a writing instrument and paper in your possession; have read the assigned material prior to class.
3. Show a basic level of respect and common courtesy to the instructor and your colleagues: arrive for class on time, remain quiet during lecture and when others are asking questions.
4. Participate in class: If something is covered in lecture or in the text which you do not understand, ASK A QUESTION (chances are at least one or more of your colleagues will have the same or similar question). The instructor is not a mind reader: the mere presence of confusion or confused expressions on students’ faces does not necessarily set off an internal alarm which warns her to go back over the material a second time. You will be held responsible for the assigned material on the examinations, so it is in your best interest to ask questions.
5. Participate in class: If you have a comment you would like to interject which is pertinent to the material being covered, make the instructor aware of this fact in a polite fashion and by all means share your insights, experiences, and opinions with the professor and your fellow students.

Important Information
1. Discrimination, harassment, or intimidation will not be tolerated. Everyone has the right to their own opinion, but should also remember that others also have the right to a classroom free from hostility, ridicule, or embarrassment, and an atmosphere conducive to learning. Every student is expected to participate in a responsible and mature manner that enhances education. Any conduct that disrupts the learning process may lead to disciplinary action.
2. See the Student Handbook for the University of Tulsa’s policies on plagiarism and academic misconduct. You are responsible for understanding what plagiarism is and avoiding it. If you have questions, please ask me.
2. Students with disabilities should contact the Center for Student Academic Support to self-identify their need in order to facilitate their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Center for Student Academic Support is in Holmes Student Center, Room 59. Website: http://www.utulsa.edu/academicsupport/   Phone: 631-231.
3. All students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with and take advantage of services provided by the Center for Student Academic Support such as tutoring, academic counseling, and developing study skills. The center for Student Academic Support provides confidential consultations to any student with academic concerns as well as to students with disabilities.
4. Students are also encouraged to familiarize themselves with and take advantage of the free counseling services available through the Counseling and Psychological Services Center. Counselors are available to help with a wide range of issues – from coping with stress and sleep difficulties to substance abuse and loss and grief. Website: http://www.utulsa.edu/CPSC/

Course Requirements and Evaluation Criteria

Exams 2@ 29%                              58%
Discussion Leader                           8%
Short papers 2 @ 15%                   30%
Participation                                     4%

Exams (midterm and final)
You will have a take-home mid-term and a take-home final. These exams will consist of essay questions based on course material (readings, lectures, films, etc.). Exams will be due at the start of class on the assigned day. A penalty of a half a letter grade will be assigned for any paper turned in after the beginning of class on the due date and a full letter grade per day thereafter. There will be no exceptions. If you know you will have a conflict on the day the exam is due, plan to turn it in early.

Discussion Leaders
Each student will be assigned two days when she or he is the discussion leader. Students should bring to class 4 discussion questions based on course readings. He or she will share responsibility with the instructor to keep discussion going on the assigned day. Please sign up for one day during the first half of the semester and one day during the second half.

Short Papers
You will write two short papers (3-5 pages each). See handouts for paper topics. A penalty of a half a letter grade will be assigned for any paper turned in after the beginning of class on the due date and a full letter grade per day thereafter. There will be no exceptions. If you know you will have a conflict on the day the exam is due, plan to turn it in early. You will have the opportunity to revise your papers for a possible maximum increase of one letter grade. Revisions must be substantial to be eligible for an increased score. Revised papers will not be accepted after the due date.

Participation
Participation will be based on attendance, completing reading assignments, actively listening in class, participating in discussion, and completing mini-assignments outside of class.

Grade translations
A: Outstanding, superior, the best that there is. Written work is presented at the college level, using standard English, with the very minimum of spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors. Shows clear grasp of concepts and demonstrates ability to synthesize material from both inside and outside the classroom. Meets deadlines. Goes beyond description to analysis. “A” papers are both creative and logical.
B: Very good. Clearly above average. Written work is presented at the college level, but might have an occasional confusing spot, sentence or spelling mistake, and a somewhat less developed or less creative analysis.
C: Good. Average. These papers might reveal that the writer probably understands the concepts, but the quality of writing is confusing or underdeveloped so that these essays would not teach concepts to an uneducated audience. These are essays that offer only the author’s opinion or summarize the readings with no attempt at analysis.
D/F: Below expectations. Below what one would normally expect from a student at the college level. Writing marred by mechanical problems. Papers will fail if the level of writing is so confusing, underdeveloped, or error ridden that the reader cannot tell what the writer knows or means.

IMPORTANT DATES:
Monday, September 4 – Labor Day – no class
Monday, September 18 – Paper 1 due
Friday, September 29 – Paper 1 revision due
Friday, October 6 – no class
Wednesday, October 11 – Exam 1 due
Friday, November 10 – Paper 2 due
Monday, December 4 – Paper 2 revision due
Wednesday, December 13 – Exam 2 due



Reading Schedule*

Mon., Aug. 21 – Introduction to course

DEFINING AND THEORIZING DEVIANCE
*This week bring to class news items describing “deviant” behavior
Wed., Aug. 23 – Read “Deviance as Fun” handout
Fri., Aug. 25 – no assigned reading
Mon., Aug. 28 – no assigned reading

THE SOCIAL DEVIANT
Wed., Aug. 30 – Chapter 1 “Outsiders”
Fri., Sept.1 – Chapter 1 “Redheads as Deviant Types”
Monday, September 4 – LABOR DAY
Wed., Sept. 6 – Chapter 2 “Labeling the Mentally Retarded”
Fri., Sept. 8 – Chapter 2 “The Crack Baby Panic”
Mon., Sept. 11 – Chapter 2 “The Labeling of Sexual Harassment”
Wed., Sept. 13 – Chapter 3 “How Women Experience Battering”
Fri., Sept. 15 – Chapter 3 “Accommodation to Madness”
Mon., Sept. 18 - Chapter 3 “When Accommodation Breaks Down”
PAPER #1 Due

THE FORMAL REGULATION OF DEVIANCE
Wed., Sept. 20 – Chapter 4 “The Enforcement of the College Alcohol Policy”
Fri., Sept. 22 – Chapter 4 “The Moral Career of the Mental Patient”
Mon., Sept. 25 – Chapter 5 “Control Agents and the Creation of Deviant Types”
Wed., Sept. 27 – Chapter 5 “Experts on Battered Women”
Fri., Sept. 29 –Chapter 6 “Getting Rid of Troublemakers in High School”
Paper 1 revisions due
Mon., Oct. 2 – Chapter 6 “Mental Illness Assumptions in Commitment Hearings”
Wed., Oct. 4 –Chapter 7 “Medical Diagnosis and the Reinforcement of Deviant Labels”
Fri., Oct. 6 – NO CLASS
Mon., Oct. 9 - Chapter 7 “The Positive Consequences of Stigma”
Wed., Oct. 11 – EXAM 1 due

RELATIONS AMONG DEVIANTS
Fri., Oct. 13 – Chapter 8 “Girls, Gangs, and Gender”
Mon., Oct. 16 – Chapter 8 “Mixed Nutters, Looney Tuners, and Daffy Ducks”
Wed., Oct. 18 – Chapter 9 “Becoming a Nudist”
Fri., Oct. 20 – Chapter 9 “Getting into Porn”
Mon., Oct. 23 –Chapter 10 “The Code of the Streets”
Wed., Oct. 25– Chapter 10 “The Nudist Management of Respectability”
Fri., Oct. 27 – Chapter 10 “Lesbians’ Resistance to Culturally-Defined Attractiveness”
Mon., Oct. 30 – Chapter 11 “Drugged Druggists”
Wed., Nov. 1–Chapter 11 “Outsiders in a Hearing World”
Fri., Nov. 3 – Chapter 11 “Diversity in Panhandling”

DEVIANT IDENTITIES
Mon., Nov. 6 – Chapter 12 “Becoming Bisexual”
Wed., Nov. 8 –Chapter 12 “Anorexia, Bulimia and Developing a Deviant Identity”
Fri., Nov. 10 –Chapter 12 “Tattoos without Stigma”
PAPER #2 due
Mon., Nov. 13 – Chapter 13 “Stutterers’ Practices”
Wed., Nov. 15– Chapter 13 “Stripteasers Management of their Deviant Identity”
Fri., Nov. 17 – Chapter 13 “Priests and Pedophilia”

Monday, November 20 – THANKSGIVING
Wednesday, November 22 – THANKSGIVING
Friday, November 24 – THANKSGIVING

Mon., Nov. 27 – Chapter 14 “Delabeling, Relabeling, and Alcoholics Anonymous”
Wed., Nov. 29 – Chapter 14 “Getting Out of the Life”
Fri., Dec. 1– Chapter 14 “Medicalizing and Demedicalizing Hermaphroditism”
Mon., Dec. 4 – Final Exam distributed
Paper 2 revisions due

Wed., Dec. 13, EXAM 2 Due in my office by 10:00am

* I reserve the right to make changes to the syllabus as needed.

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