I gather, young man, that you wish to be a Member of Parliament. The first lesson that you must learn is, when I call for statistics about the rate of infant mortality, what I want is proof that fewer babies died when I was Prime Minister than when anyone else was Prime Minister. That is a poliitical statistic.
Winston Churchill

Missed exams will be counted as zeros except, of course, for extraordinary circumstances. Acceptable reasons for missing an exam would include health problems, a death in the family, etc. Please note that arrangements should be made with me before the exam and that. Exams are scheduled well in advance so discretionary activity should be scheduled around these dates.

Note: All make-up exams will be scheduled for the last day of final exams.

Office Hours are Monday and Wednesday, 6:00-7:00PM and Tuesday and Friday, 9:00-10:AM. If the designated office hours do not fit your schedule you are encouraged to stop by my office at your convenience. An even more desirable option would be to call me to set up a more convenient time. Indeed, my "door is always open" (even if it is closed) and you need not feel limited by the posted office hours.

Assignments are due at the beginning of class. Late assignments will be docked one grade if they are handed in within 24 hours, two grades if they are handed in between 24 hours late and one week late, and three grades if they are handed in after one week.

Attendance and Participation are "required." In a class of this nature, interaction and participation are important. If you do not follow through with your end of the bargain (i.e., attending class, participating in discussions, keeping up with the reading) it is unlikely our experience together will be completely successful.

Grades have no absolute or objective quality. They represent a professor's evaluation of the student's performance. Academic performance concerns knowledge of the subject matter and the ability to communicate that knowledge. Assigned letter grades represent the following evaluations:
A = Superior academic performance and demonstration of creative ability (a mark of excellence)
B = Outstanding academic performance (very good)
C = Adequate academic performance (good)
D = Less than adequate academic performance
F = Inadequate academic performance

Sociological Inquiry Assignment

The Sociological Inquiry Assignment is your chance to apply course content to contemporary issues and research.

Purpose. There are three purposes of this assignment. First, one of the important objectives I have for this class is to help you learn to apply sociological concepts to your own experiences and observations (as opposed to simply memorizing theories and definitions). The beauty of this assignment is that it "makes" you think about and apply sociological concepts, principles, and theories to your observations of deviance in society. The better inquiries are those that successfully make direct and detailed connections to specific course content. Second, this assignment will help you become better researchers. Each of the 6 Sociological Inquiries you turn in represent mini research papers. While I want you to feel free to report your personal observations, I also hope that you will take the time to do a little research on the topic. Finally, the inquiry assignment gives me a chance to get to know you. It also provides continual feedback to both you and me regarding the learning taking place. Hopefully, you will find it enjoyable.

Task. It might be easiest to think of this assignment as having two parts. The first part describes an event or observation you think is relevant to class material. Examine your daily experiences and observations for evidence of deviant behavior. Think about past experiences (e.g., high school, your family). Think about decisions you have made, articles you have read, movies and television programs you have watched, etc. When you can’t think of topics to discuss you may have to actively look for subject matter in the newspaper or magazines or television. Newspapers, magazines, and TV routinely report on deviant behavior. Sometimes their accounts may be distorting (i.e., they may not get the "facts" straight, or they may be sensationalistic), which is one of the reasons the popular media is an intriguing source of information on deviance. At the very least we all recognize that media accounts shape our perception of what deviance is, how common deviance is, who the deviants are, and how we can best explain deviance. For these reasons, they are an ideal source of information on societal reactions to deviance.

Finally, you will need to analyze these observations, experiences, stories, in light of sociological concepts and theories. The more specific reference you make to course material (e.g., studies discussed in the book or in lecture, articles you find on your own), the better your entry will be. The entries need not always be "deep," but it is important that you connect your observations to social science literature on deviance. Remember that the primary purpose of this assignment is to get you to apply sociological principles to the world around you. If you cannot apply specific sociological concepts, theories, or studies, your entry is probably incomplete. Whenever possible you should think about ways your research might contribute to your (and my) understanding of the topic. Data base searches make library research easy. Do a search and see what you find! Remember, any source of information should be appropriately cited and referenced (APA style preferable).

An example: Perhaps you have read an intriguing article in Newsweek on the ongoing debate about the definition of rape. In addition to summarizing the article, you should make direct connections to theory and research (your text is the best place to start). Even better (and whenever possible), do a little research on the topic. Perhaps you can check official definitions of rape and estimates of rape provided by the FBI, or cite and an article or two on the feminist reaction to official definitions.

You will write a total of 6 inquiries for the semester. The first 3 are due Monday, March 3 and the second three are due Monday, April 14. Each inquiry entry should be typed, double-spaced. Average length about 5 pages.

Grades. “C” inquiries are turned in on time but the student makes minimal connections to sociological concepts or theories and little or no research is cited. “A” inquiries are well written, creative, and detailed. A wide variety of well-researched topics are discussed. Great care is taken to connect the observation to sociological concepts and theories. The textbook is cited, articles are cited, and other research is cited.


Stigma Paper
Everyone has a trivial stigma that they carry around with him or her. For me it might be my balding head (or is it just plain ole bald!) or my extra-ordinary intelligence and good looks (ha!). For you it might be that you are a nail-biter, a smoker, an atheist, flat chested or too big-breasted, skinny or fat, shy, a male who doesn't like sports, etc. -- lots of strange and wonderful stigmas. Something about you or your behavior makes you "different." Some of these stigmas are especially trivial, others more significant. You should feel free to talk about anything, and I will treat your responses in the strictest confidence.

Start with this: What is a stigma? (The text is a good source of info on this question). What is your stigma?

Next, consider any of the following questions that seem relevant:

- What social reactions are generated by your behavior/attitude/appearance?
- In what situations are you most susceptible to the judgments of others? From which persons? How strong are these reactions? What do you think is the reason for this social reaction?
- What sort of threat does this deviance present?
- Are there auxiliary traits presumed to be linked to this deviant status?
- What does being a deviant feel like?
- How do the reactions of others impact your perception of self?
- How do you neutralize or otherwise manage your deviance?
- Why do you think you use these particular management devices?
- Are there any problems associated with your management strategy?
    Due Monday, January 13


Group Presentation

The purpose of this assignment is to get you to research, think about, and present a controversial issue in crime and deviance to the class. Your task is to educate us about a particular issue. This presentation should include two parts: (1) A description of the controversial issue. What is the controversy about? Explain, as objectively as possible, both sides of the argument. Be sure to cite and explain relevant research in your discussion of the different views on the issue. (2) Where do you stand on the issue? Feel free to offer your opinions, but hopefully you will be able to cite research to support your opinion. At the very least, you should be able to convincingly defend your position.

Possible topics might include:

• Should drugs be legalized? You might want to focus specifically on marijuana and consider the experiments with decriminalization around the world and in various states in the U.S.
• The medical use of marijuana. This is very controversial. The research on the medical benefits it limited and many critics argue that this is just an attempt to get marijuana legalized.
• Gun control laws. Always an interesting and divisive topic.
• Should the community be notified when sexual "predators" are released from prison? This one is hot around the country, with numerous states adopting variations on “Megan’s Law.”
• What is more serious, white-collar crime or street crime? Who is the criminal is always an interesting topic. Is it the “slimy,” drug selling street thug, or the Enron power broker. Not an easy question to answer, but one particularly interesting to sociologists.
• Are we winning the "war on drugs?"
• Is the media in part responsible for the level of violence in our society?
• Consider the controversy surrounding so-called addictions (to religion, or sex, or chocolate, or...).
• Do cults and cult membership represent a social problem? Do cults cause sufficient harm in society that their practices should be controlled by government? I tend to take a “religious freedom” stance on this issue, but I might be wrong.
• You might want to update us on the Satanism movement (i.e., the actual practice of Satanism) and the 1990s hysteria about Satanism. What happened to the Satanism scare?
• Can one be “converted” from homosexuality to heterosexuality? This topic is hot and fascinating. The answer, of course, depends on how one defines and explains homosexuality.
• What are the causes of homosexuality? There is more and more evidence that it is largely biological. Update us on this issue.
• What is rape? This is probably the most interesting “what is deviance?” debate right now. Feminists and conservatives are engaged in a turf battle, with the winner awarded the right to define the problem and estimate the prevalence of the problem.

As a group, your task is to explain the issue in an interesting and engaging way. Try to be creative with your discussion and try to think of ways to get the class involved in your presentation. Your grade for this portion of the course will be based on the content of the presentation, and effective communication of that content. The key to a good presentation is being organized and creative. Your task is to inform us and to get us to think. A creative and engaging presentation will create interest and stimulate thought.