Crime and deviance -Introfunctionalist.pptx

sociology notes on crime and deviance

1. Crime and Deviance Concepts and Theories

2. Concepts you should know…

3. Social Order… Social order is a fundamental concept in sociology that refers to the way the various components of society work together to maintain the status quo. They include: social structures and institutions social relations social interactions and behavior cultural features such as norms, beliefs, and values (refer to unit 1 or page 329 to 334 text)

4. Social Order Defined… Outside the field of sociology, people often use the term "social order" to refer to a state of stability and consensus that exists in the absence of chaos and upheaval. Sociologists, however, have a more complex understanding of the term. Within the field, it refers to the organization of many interrelated parts of a society. Social order is present when individuals agree to a shared social contract that states that certain rules and laws must be abided and certain standards, values, and norms maintained. Within all of these, social order is most often hierarchical; some people hold more power than others so they can enforce the laws, rules, and norms necessary for the preservation of social order. Practices, behaviors, values, and beliefs that are counter to those of the social order are typically framed as deviant and/or dangerous and are curtailed through the enforcement of laws, rules, norms, and taboos.

5. Understanding Crime and Deviance DEVIANCE is the violation of cultural norms. It may be criminal or non-criminal. Whether deviant behaviour is perceived as good or bad depends on the society, time and place. CRIME is a category of deviance that is forbidden by law and exists in all societies. Example murder. It is important to understand that what is considered a crime in one society may not be considered a crime in another society. Example marijuana use.

6. Activity 1 Answer the following questions:

7. Theoretical perspectives on crime and deviance Many theories and explanations have been put forward to explain what causes crime in society. Of the many attempts to explain crime and deviance in society, there are five: Functionalist theory Sub-cultural theory Conflict theory Interactionist theory Feminist theory

8. Functionalist on Crime & Deviance

9. Macro perspectives on C&D Durkheim Subcultural theories Robert Merton Albert Cohen Cloward & Ohlin Walter Miller

10. Durkheim Rosa Parks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-MLurRcUxg Martin Luther King: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPfrcMeB86g Citizens Arrest: https://youtu.be/-_9tG-SYy7c Jamaat 1990 Coup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8rP7f3XUyE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-grjOP-o7A0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gsjmo4B6qV0

11. Question??? Give brief overview of video. Do you think a crime/deviant act is being committed Was it necessary? Why? Justify your answer. So, do you think crime performs any positive functions in society? Can you give example based on video you looked at.

12. Durkheim's Functionalist Theory on Deviance Three of Durkheim’s Key Ideas About Crime are: A limited amount of crime is necessary. Why? Crime has positive functions. What are they? On the other hand, too much crime is bad for society and can help bring about its collapse. How?

13. Crime is Necessary Because: Not every member of society can be equally committed to the collective sentiments. Individuals are exposed to different influences and circumstances. The general standards would be so high in society that the slightest slip would be regarded as a serious offence. The individual who simple showed bad taste or was merely impolite would attract strong disapproval. Durkheim states that even in a “society of saints” deviance would still exists. All social change begins with some form of deviance.

14. Crime performs positive functions

15. Too much crime is bad for society Refer to Durkheim’s Theory of Suicide…..research how? .

16. Cont’d Durkheim argued that crime only became dysfunctional when there was too much or too little of it – too much and social order would break down, too little and there would not be sufficient capacity for positive social change. Institutions of social control are necessary to keep the amount of crime in check. Durkheim suggested that the function of punishment was not to remove crime from society altogether, because society ‘needed’ crime. The point of punishment was to control crime and to maintain the collective sentiments. In Durkheim’s own words punishment ‘serves to heal the wounds done to the collective sentiments. According to Durkheim a healthy society requires BOTH crime and punishment to be in balance and to be able to change

17. Evaluation of Functionalist View on Deviance… He talks about crime in a general way. He says crime is necessary and functional but fails to distinguish between different types of crime. It could be that some crimes may be so harmful that they will always be dysfunctional rather than functional. Durkheim is suggesting that the criminal justice system benefits everyone in society by punishing criminals and reinforcing the acceptable boundaries of behavior. However, according to Marxists and Feminist not all criminals are punished/or punished equally and thus crime and punishment benefit the powerful more than the powerless. Interactionists would suggest that whether or not a crime is functional cannot be determined objectively; surely it depends on an individual’s relationship to the crime. (Refer to text pg. 338 para. 2 and 3) for others.