Deviance, Crime and Social Capital

This course explores the reasons why society creates mandatory rules of behavior, the reasons why members of society sometimes break those rules, and the reasons why society responds to rule-breaking in the ways that it does. The course focuses, in particular, on the leading sociological and criminological explanations of deviance, crime, and social control. Rather than taking categories like “deviant” and “criminal” for granted, however, the course considers the ways in which society’s decisions about rule-making and enforcement may be every bit as consequential as individuals’ decisions about deviance and conformity.