SOC100H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Child Pornography, Cruelty To Animals, Employment Discrimination

• School: UTSG
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC100H1

Document Summary

3 big questions organizing the study of crime. 2 questions dominated the field of criminology for a long time. And more recently, a 3rd one has emerged and is gaining in importance. Studying crime & deviance means studying normalcy studying normalcy. Studying crime & deviance is studying norms, studying society"s expectations. Taking the boundaries of acceptability as an object of inquiry instead of taken for granted. Relative but not that everyone gets to decide what is normal. Laws also relative in country of time. The criminal code defines crimes as the intentional violation of criminal law without defense and without excuse. There are 4 components of the criminal code: Politicality laws are enacted by the legislature, that is, people who are elected. Looking at what is legal/illegal is part of the political process. Social movements, lobbyists, and political groups will attempt to change laws, take them away, or come up with new ones.