Syllabus
Deviance (syp 3510)
3 CREDIT HOURS
Fall 2016: MWF, 3rd Period, 9:35-10:25 am
Instructors: Wally Wojciechowski
3231 Turlington Hall
Office Hours: Monday- 10:30am-12:30pm Tuesday- 10:30pm-11:30pm
Course Website: http://lss.at.ufl.edu
Course Communications: You can communicate with me by sending questions via email through Canvas or to my UF email address (above).
Required Text: Clinard, Marshall B., Robert F. Meier. 2011. Sociology of Deviant Behavior, 14th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth CENGAGE Learning.
Course Description: Introduces students to the subjective nature of deviant behavior while also discussing the problems that some forms of deviant behavior pose to society. Introduces students to theories that both explain deviant behavior and explain the consequences of defining behavior as deviant. Provides overview of the prevalence of deviant behavior in the United States.
Purpose of Course: This course is designed to provide a thorough introduction to the sociological phenomenon of deviance. You will have the opportunity to learn and about how and why behaviors and characteristics come to be understood by others as deviant. You will also come to understand theories which predict how and why individuals engage in deviant behavior as well as theories which predict the consequences of being defined as deviant. We will cover topics pertaining to different types of characteristics or behaviors defined by society as deviant; like drug use, mental illness, interpersonal violence, and suicide. In addition, we will briefly discuss typical methods used to describe deviance by sociologists. This will touch upon reasons why certain methodologies are important to the study of deviance, but because this is not a methods class, this discussion will necessarily be shallow. A solid understanding of how and why deviance is defined will improve your ability to consume and produce information pertaining to deviance and enhance your capacity for critical thought.
Course Goals and/or Objectives: By the end of this course, students will:
1. Describe the subjective nature of deviance in society
2. Understand the etiology of deviant behavior within the context of relevant theoretical frameworks
3. Better understand the history and prevalence of deviant behaviors in the United States
4. Describe appropriate methods for studying deviance and why they are used.
Course Policies:
Attendance Policy: No class-room attendance is required for this course. You necessarily WILL NEED TO ATTEND CLASS REGULARLY IF YOU WISH TO SUCCEED IN THIS COURSE, as the textbook readings are not the sole provider of information for this course. Please contact the Registrar’s Office for information on withdrawal dates and procedures if necessary.
Exam Policy: Exams will take place as they are marked on the syllabus, however, they may be slightly pushed back (but never forward) due to time constraints. You will be expected to show up on time on exam days to take exams as scheduled. Only the most extreme emergencies will result in consideration of allowing you to take an exam at a different time. Taking an exam at a different time will result in you receiving a different, and likely more difficult, exam than your peers. Make-up exams without notice will not be permitted.
Each exam is worth 50 total points. There will be 15 multiple choice questions and you will choose to answer 2 out of 5 short answer questions provided to you. Each multiple choice question will be worth 2 points, each short answer question will be worth 10.
Final Paper: You will be required to write a final paper for this course focused on a deviant behavior/characteristic and a theoretical framework of your choosing. I highly recommend you choose a behavior/characteristic and theory covered by this course, but I do allow for departure from these recommendations. If you wish to utilize a theoretical framework and deviant behavior/characteristic not covered by this course as your topic, you must seek approval from me.
The final paper is worth a total of 55 points. The parameters of this paper are listed below with a rubric for the final paper included on the final page of this syllabus:
Introduction: 1-2 pages, 5 points
Theoretical Framework: 2-3 pages, 10 points
Explanation of Deviant Behavior in Terms of Theory: 2-3 pages, 10 points
Possible Competing Theoretical Explanations: 1-2 pages, 5 points
Literature Review of Existing Research in Support of Chosen Theory: 3-5 pages, 15 points
Conclusion: 1-2 pages, 5 points
Grammar: 5 points
Your final paper will be turned in on Canvas and is due December 2nd at 11:59 pm. Late submissions will receive an automatic score of 0. All final papers will be subject to review via turnitin.com plagiarism detection service. Any plagiarism detected will result in a 0 on the final paper and will be reported to the appropriate agencies for enforcement of the UF academic honesty policy. American Sociological Association citation format should be used in in-cite citation and bibliography for paper. For an overview of ASA citation, you may visit:
Quizzes: There are 2 unscheduled pop quizzes included in this course. However, these quizzes are worth 10 extra credit points each. These are meant to encourage attendance as you will not know until class begins on a given day when they will occur. These will consist of 5 multiple choice questions, each worth 2 extra credit points. These quizzes will cover relevant material up that we have covered between the time of the last exam (or beginning of the course) up to the present day. Answers will be briefly reviewed following the quiz and quiz questions may be reused on exams. Because these quizzes are only for extra credit, no make-up attempts will be given.
UF Policies:
University Policy on Accommodating Students with Disabilities: Students requesting accommodation for disabilities must first register with the Dean of Students Office (http://www.dso.ufl.edu/drc/). The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the instructor when requesting accommodation. You must submit this documentation prior to submitting assignments or taking the quizzes or exams. Accommodations are not retroactive, therefore, students should contact the office as soon as possible in the term for which they are seeking accommodations.
University Policy on Academic Misconduct: Academic honesty and integrity are fundamental values of the University community. Students should be sure that they understand the UF Student Honor Code at https://www.dso.ufl.edu/sccr/process/student-conduct-honor-code/
**Netiquette: Communication Courtesy: All members of the class are expected to follow rules of common courtesy in all email messages, threaded discussions and chats. Failure to follow netiquette may result in a grade reduction.
UF netiquette policies may be found at: http://teach.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/NetiquetteGuideforOnlineCourses.pdf
Getting Help:
For issues with technical difficulties for E-learning in Canvas, please contact the UF Computing Help Desk at:
·
· (352) 392-HELP - select option 2
· https://request.it.ufl.edu
Other resources are available at http://www.distance.ufl.edu/getting-help for:
· Counseling and Wellness resources
· Disability resources
· Resources for handling student concerns and complaints
· Library Help Desk support
Should you have any complaints with your experience in this course please visit http://www.distance.ufl.edu/student-complaints to submit a complaint.
Grading Policies:
Assignment / PointsQuizzes / +20 points
Exams / 50 points each x3
Final Paper / 55 points
Grading Scale:
Grade: / Point %:A / 94% - 100%
A- / 90% - 93.9%
B+ / 87% - 89.9%
B / 84% - 86.9%
B- / 80% - 83.9%
C+ / 77% - 79.9%
C / 74% - 76.9%
C- / 70% - 73.9%
D+ / 67% - 69.9%
D / 64% - 66.9%
D- / 60% - 63.9%
E / 59.9% or fewer
Course Schedule and assigned readings:
1- Assigned Reading: Clinard and Meier Chapter 1
8/22: Intro
8/24: Defining Deviance
8/26: Subcultures of Deviance
2- Assigned Reading: Clinard and Meier Chapter 2, Chapter 3
8/29: Controlling Deviance
8/31: Social Roles and Becoming Deviant
9/2: Alternative Perspectives of Deviance/Intro to Theory
3- Assigned Reading: Clinard and Meier Chapter 4
9/5: Labor Day
9/7: Social Control Theory/Social Learning Theory
9/9: Strain Theories
4- No Assigned Reading
9/12: Labeling Theory/Stigma
9/14: Conflict Theory
9/16: Life-Course Perspective/Risk and Protective Factors
5- No Assigned Reading
9/19: Alternative Sociological Perspectives
9/21: Review
9/23: Exam #1
6- Assigned Reading: Clinard and Meier Chapter 6
9/26: Crime as Deviance
9/28: Crime as Deviance/Nonviolent Crimes
9/30: Nonviolent Crimes/Criminal Careers
7- Assigned Reading: Clinard and Meier Chapter 7, Chapter 8
10/3: White Collar Crime
10/5: Drug Use and Alcoholism
10/7: Homecoming
8- Assigned Reading Clinard and Meier Chapter 11, Chapter 5
10/10: Drug Use and Alcoholism
10/12: Sexual Deviance
10/14: Violence as Deviance
9- Assigned Reading: Clinard and Meier Chapter 10
10/17: Violence as Deviance/ Suicide
10/19: Suicide
10/21: Intro to Self-Injury
10- No Assigned Reading
10/24: Self-Injury
10/26: Review
10/28: Exam #2
11- Assigned Reading: Clinard and Meier Chapter 14
10/28: Medicalization/Mental Illness as Deviance
11/2: Mental Illness as Deviance
11/4: Final Paper Questions and Discussion/Questions about Graduate School
12- No Assigned Reading
11/7: Mental Illness as Deviance
11/9: Criticisms of Psychiatric Perspectives
11/11: Veterans Day
13- Assigned Reading: Clinard and Meier Chapter 13
11/14: Deviant Physical Characteristics
11/16: Cyber Deviance- Guest Lecturer Damien Hoffman
11/18: Qualitative Methods vs. Quantitative Methods
14- No Assigned Reading
11/21: Holiday
11/23: Holiday
11/25: Holiday
15- Assigned Readings: Qualitative and Qualitative Research Readings in Canvas
11/28: Qualitative Research
11/30: Quantitative Research
12/2: TBD
16- No Assigned Reading
12/5: Review
12/7: Exam #3
Disclaimer: This syllabus represents my current plans and objectives. As we go through the semester, those plans may need to change to enhance the class learning opportunity. Such changes, communicated clearly,are not unusual and should be expected.
Final Paper Rubric
Credit / 100% / 50% / 0%Introduction / Completely introduces the behavior/ characteristic of interest, discusses relevance of behavior to deviance, briefly outlines structure of the paper clearly / Only briefly discusses behavior of interest, does not fully make clear why this behavior/ characteristic is relevant to a deviance, outline of the paper is not made totally clear / Behavior/ characteristic chosen is unclear, case is not made for why this behavior/ characteristic is relevant to deviance course, structure of paper is not outlined
Theoretical Framework / All tenets of chosen theoretical framework are clearly identified and mechanisms of etiology explained / Tenets of theory identified but explanations not complete, few tenets are missing / Author shows poor understanding of chosen theory, omits many tenets of theory, shows poor understanding of etiology
Explanation of Behavior/Characteristic in Terms of Theoretical Framework / Chosen behavior explained using the terminology of the theoretical framework of interest, solid case is made for understanding behavior in terms of chosen theory / Behavior is explained but not using fully the terminology of the theory, reader is left with doubt about being able to explain behavior using theory / Terminology of theory is not used to explain behavior, case is not made in any way that this theory can explain chosen behavior
Possible Competing Theoretical Explanations for Behavior/Characteristic / At least one theoretical framework is identified and terminology is used to briefly explain chosen behavior/ characteristic, flaws and limitations of the alternative framework(s) are highlighted to make case for chosen theory / Terminology of alternative theory(s) as they relate to chosen behavior are unclear, alternative theory is not problematized in order to highlight case for original chosen theory / Alternative theory is not clearly identified, author shows no clear understanding of alternative theory, case is not made for either the alternative theory or original chosen theory for explaining chosen behavior
Literature Review / Comprehensive review uses evidence from explicit tests of theory with behavior as focus, uses sound reasoning for including non-explicit evidence / Review of literature does not include any explicit tests of theory, argument for inclusion of non-explicit evidence is only made somewhat clear as to how it relates to theory / Incomplete review of the existing literature, inclusion of non-explicit evidence is not made clear as to how it relates to the chosen theory
Conclusion / Provides succinct review of the paper, discusses solutions for solving problems related to behavior using theory (or alternatives) / Paper is only superficially reviewed, solutions to problems related to behavior are provided but are unclear or unrelated to chosen theory (or alternatives) / No review of paper is provided, problems related to behavior nor solutions to problems are discussed
Grammar/Professional Presentation / ASA citation used correctly throughout paper/ bibliography, no grammar/spelling errors, good sentence flow and readability / ASA citation used correctly sporadically throughout paper/ bibliography, some grammar/ spelling errors, somewhat confusing sentence flow and slightly problematic readability / ASA citation not properly employed in paper/ bibliography, many grammar/ spelling errors, extremely confusing sentence flow and poor readability
*All points are also contingent on smooth and clear transitions between sections