About the Book
The highly readable articles in this comprehensive anthology explore the essence of deviant behavior - its construction, explanation, commission, and control. Substantive introductions to each section and to each article allow the book's component parts to stand on their own depending on instructional needs. Topic-specific Internet Websites are also provided. Bruce Jacobs has selected an eclectic cross-section of compelling readings. The book's theoretical coverage draws from classic as well as contemporary approaches (e.g., lifecourse, general strain, institutional anomie, feminist), with an emphasis on the latter. The empirical selections on forms of deviant behavior are engaging, ethnographic, and timely. Coverage includes: Child Prostitution; Robbery of Drug Dealers; Impersonal Homosexual Sex; Internet Pornography; Petty Shoplifting; Eating Disorders; Life on Death Row; Racial Profiling; Ritalin and the Drugging of Children; Sex Tourism; Athletes with Physical Disabilities; Violence Beyond the Law; Cyberspace Crime; and Use of Cameras, Drug tests, and DNA Analysis to Monitor Deviants.
The section on deviant identity management emphasizes the acquisition and management of stigma. The researching deviance section features the process by which scholars conduct deviance research (both ethnographic and survey) - as well as how they identify and infiltrate settings, negotiate dilemmas and contradictions, and secure valid data. The section on deviance and social control covers profiling, life sentences, judicial discretion, and surveillance. Gender is incorporated throughout the book as a crucial mediating variable. Feminist perspectives, as well as approaches that focus on masculinity and deviance, are both included.
Table of Contents:
Part I: Constructing Deviance 1. Outsiders Howard S. Becker Becker contends that deviant behavior is anything that is labeled as such by those with the power to do so. 2. Fear, the Media, and the Construction of Deviance Barry Glassner An account of the media's role in generating fear to shape perceptions of deviance and social problems. 3. On the Sociology of Deviance Kai T. Erikson A discussion of basic issues in the construction of deviant behavior, and the role that deviance plays in properly functioning societies. 4. Defining Deviancy Down Daniel Patrick Moynihan Moynihan suggests that societies can tolerate only so much deviance and, when overloaded, will redefine egregious behavior as tolerable conduct. Part II: Explaining Deviance 5. Deviance and Low Self-Control Michael Gottfredson & Travis Hirschi The authors' general theory of deviance begins with the controversial assumption that human nature, if not evil, is inherently anti-social. 6. Deviance, Anomie, and the American Dream Steven F. Messner & Richard Rosenfeld The authors argue that in materialistic societies, an 'anything goes' mentality justifies illegitimate means for illegitimate ends. 7. Deviance and Oppositional Culture: The Code of the Streets Elijah Anderson Anderson explores how street life promotes an oppositional culture that makes violence, aggression, and other forms of deviance normative. 8. The Theory of Differential Association Edwin Sutherland & Donald Cressey The authors argue that deviance is a function of association, where values, attitudes, and rationalizations in support of rule-breaking are learned. 9. General Strain Theory of Crime and Delinquency Robert Agnew Borrowing from the psychology of aggression, equity, and reinforcement, Agnew expands the concept of strain to include non-economic forms. 10. Crime and Deviance in the Lifecourse Robert J. Sampson & John H. Laub Sampson and Laub offer a dynamic model of deviance as it occurs across the lifecourse, exploring onset, persistence, and desistence. 11. Techniques of Neutralization Gresham Sykes & David Matza A discussion of how rule-breakers explain away deviant conduct in ways that make past violations more palatable and future ones easier to commit. 12. A Radical Conception of Crime and Deviance Michael J. Lynch The authors explore how power and resource differences in capitalist societies shape the etiology of deviant behavior. 13. Gender, Crime, and Deviance Kathleen Daly Daly offers a feminist perspective on crime and deviance, proposing ways to incorporate gender as a mediating construct. 14. Deviance, Labeling, and Reintegrative Shaming John Braithwaite Braithwaite explores how social control agents label and sanction offenders without putting them on a course of lifetime deviance. Part III: Researching Deviance 15. Studying Sex: An American Survey Edward O. Laumann, Robert T. Michael, John Gagnon, & Stuart Michaels Laumann and his colleagues provide a view of sex survey research. 16. Researching Crack Dealers Bruce A. Jacobs Jacobs describes dangerous research with high-risk offenders and the methods he used to gain entry and secure their trust. 17. Gender and Research with the Police Jennifer Hunt Hunt describes how she negotiated a double deviant status as both woman and researcher in a police subculture. Part IV: Drugs 18. The Social Construction of Drugs and Drug Use Robert F. Meier & Gilbert Geis A broad overview of drugs, drug use, and their social construction. 19. Marijuana and Lifestyle: Exploring Tolerable Deviance Andrew Hathaway Hathaway suggests that marijuana use complements a conventional lifestyle and is conducive to harmonious living with others. 20. I Take Care of My Kids: Mothering Practices of Substance-Abusing Women Phyllis Baker & Amy Carson An account of the parenting practices of drug-using moms and how such practices contradict stereotypes of them as villains and social pariahs. 21. The Ethic of 'Responsible Drinking' Earl Rubington A discussion of college drinking and the methods that residential assistants use to control it. 22. Ritalin Ascendant Lawrence Diller Diller discusses whether attention deficit disorder is a medical problem or a management problem, and whether the widespread use of Ritalin is justified. 23. American Women and Smoking: 22 Million Just Don't Get It Ann Colston Wentz An account of the rising tide of female smokers and the implications for public health. Part V: Violence 24. Next Time She'll Be Dead: What is Domestic Violence? Ann Jones Jones explores the theoretical and practical implications of domestic violence, the greatest physical and emotional threat many women face. 25. Gang Violence Scott H. Decker & Barrik Van Winkle A depiction of serious violence by active gang members - its purpose, meaning, and commission. 26. Hate Crimes: The Rising Tide of Bigotry and Bloodshed Jack Levin & Jack McDevitt Levin and McDevitt describe hate violence, its enactment, and the forces that motivate it. 27. Robbing Drug Dealers: Violence Beyond the Law Bruce A. Jacobs Jacobs suggests that drug dealers make perfect robbery targets because they have a lot of cash and cannot call the police if they are victimized. 28. The Spectrum of Child Abuse R. Kim Oates The author explores the different dimensions of child abuse and some of the reasons why it is underreported. Part VI: Sexual Deviance 29. The Social Organization of Prostitution Robert F. Meier & Gilbert Geis Meier and Geis provide a broad overview of prostitution - its social organization, current legal context, and feminist perspectives on the trade. 30. Erotic Cyberspace: The Internet and 'Logging On' to Sex Keith F. Durkin & Clifton D. Bryant Durkin and Bryant explore the emerging influence of electronic erotica and its role in spawning deviant networks. 31. Men Who Have Sex with Other Men Barry D. Adam, Alan Sears, & Glenn Schellenberg The authors examine the linguistic devices gay men use to make high-risk sexual behavior seem less risky or, in some cases, not risky at all. 32. Turn-Ons for Money: Interactional Strategies of the Table Dancer Carol Rambo Ronai & Carolyn Ellis An inside view of the world of strippers, exploring the negotiated order between dancers and their clients. 33. Sex Tourism and Child Prostitution in Asia Heather Montgomery Montgomery explores the experiences of a group of children from Thailand who sell sex to Western tourists. 34. Fraternities and Rape on Campus Patricia Yancey Martin & Robert A. Hummer A discussion of the ways in which fraternities, as organizations, create a climate conducive to rape and sexual aggression. Part VII: White Collar Deviance 35. Crime in Cyberspace Gene Stephens An account of computer crime in the information age. 36. Corporate Deviance David R. Simon Simon argues that few Americans realize the high risk they assume from products to make their lives easier, more satisfying, and more convenient. 37. Organized Deviance David R. Simon & Frank E. Hagan 38. Accounts of Professional Misdeeds: The Sexual Exploitation of Clients by Psychotherapists Mark R. Pogrebin, Eric D. Poole, & Amos Martinez Sexual relations between therapists and their patients have a history of prohibition. The authors discuss how therapists neutralize their deviance. 39. Doctor-assisted Suicide Bonnie Steinbock Steinbock examines the medical and ethical issues that surround euthanasia. Part VIII: Mental Illness 40. Nowhere to go: Homelessness and Mental Illness E. Fuller Torrey Torrey explores the relationship between mental illness and homelessness, showing how policy interventions have made things worse, not better. 41. The Compulsion to Amputate One's Own Limbs: Apotemnophilia and Mental Disorder Carl Elliott A look at the disorder that causes people to want to cut off their own limbs. 42. Women's Madness: Misogyny or Mental Illness? Jane M. Ussher The author explores the gendered construction of 'madness,' focusing on the role psychiatry has played in pathologizing women's behavior. 43. Managing 'Crazy' Friends and Relatives: Accommodation Practices and Vernacular Treatments of Madness Michael Lynch Lynch examines practices used to accommodate the 'mentally unstable' and how such practices move social order down to the level of interaction. 44. The Suicidal Mind: Why Do We Kill Ourselves? Edwin S. Shneidman Shneidman offers the idea of 'psychache' to explain the etiology of suicide. 45. On Being Sane in Insane Places David L. Rosenhan "Reality is what people perceive it to be, and perceptions drive actions." Rosenhan demonstrates the powerful implications of this truism. Part IX: Stigma and Identity Management 46. Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia: The Development of Deviant Identities Penelope A. McLorg & Diane E. Taub The authors explore society's fixation on being thin and the resulting consequences of this unattainable goal. 47. Becoming a Shoplifter: The Seductions of Deviance Jack Katz Shoplifting is a solitary offense; without the possibility of getting caught, there would be no motivation to steal. 48. Stigma Management Through Participation in Sport and Physical Activity: Experiences of Male College Students with Physical Disabilities Diane E. Taub, Elaine M. Blinde, & Kimberly R. Greer Athletic participation allows disabled men to transform a discrediting attribute into a positive source of valuation. 49. Women Athletes as Falsely Accused Deviants: Managing the Lesbian Stigma Elaine M. Blinde & Diane E. Taub The authors examine responses when female athletes are labeled lesbians. 50. Gay and Greek: The Identity Paradox of Gay Fraternities King-To Yeung & Mindy Stombler The fraternity is the quintessential heterosexual institution. Some gay men, however, use it for the collective expression of gay identity. 51. Return to Sender: Reintegrative Stigma Management Strategies of Ex-psychiatric Patients Nancy J. Herman Herman examines how former deviants manage impressions and control information in ways that permit reintegration into mainstream society. 52. Leaving Deviance: The Case of Upper-level Drug Dealers and Smugglers Patricia A. Adler & Peter Adler The Adlers argue that deviance 'oscillates' in a fashion that is uncertain and difficult to predict. Part X: Deviance and Social Control 53. Driving While Black Elijah Anderson Anderson explores the troubling implications of unfair treatment of minorities by police, causing distrust of and contempt for authority. 54. Life on Death Row Robert Johnson Johnson explores the process by which inmates manage their day-to-day existence and face their inevitable fate. 55. Race, Class, and Gender in Female Sentencing: An Ethnographic Perspective Jody Miller Miller explores the intersection of race, gender, and class and its impact on the sentencing of female offenders. 56. Surveillance and Reputation in America Steven L. Nock Nock examines the role of surveillance and some of its unintended consequences. 57. Everyday Surveillance: Vigilance and Visibility in Postmodern Life William G. Staples The diffusion of surveillance from traditional modes of social control has created a community where everyone is a potential offender.
