Deviant Behavior

Catalog description

The purpose of this course is to provide students with a clear understanding of the nature and meaning of deviance. Students learn what is considered the norm in society, what is outside the norm, and how each is relative in nature. Theoretical explanations, cross cultural references and in depth analyses of deviant behavior are studied from the three dominant sociological paradigms. Who defines deviance, what is deviant, why deviance persists, the effect of labels, and the personal and social effects of deviance are discussed.