SOC 2070 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Anomie, Social Control

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 2070
• Professor: Parnaby

Document Summary

There will never be one that explains social deviance perfectly. Keep an eye out for what a theory can explain and what is missing from its explanation. Most sociological theories are separated into these two categories. This is the assumption built into objective theories. Something about the act of the person that makes it deviant. Reaction - watch, and behaviour that shocks people & makes them step back = deviant. Theories of domestic violence, bullying, racism, mental illness, drug use etc. Physical or psychological - both are deviant, both are harm. Acts of bravery - deviant (not common) but not harmful. threshold (how rare does it have to be?) So this makes rarity quite abstract and broad. Deviant behaviour is anything that stirs up a negative reaction. These ideas bring us comfort, because most people agree in which is common sense. Ask questions at different levels to find out how something became.