Department of Sociology,
& Criminal Justice

SOC 3670 Social Deviance (also crosslisted as CRJ 3670)

Instructor: Dr. Fran FullerSemester: Spring, 2010
Class Location: Richmond Community CollegeTime: Monday Evenings, 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM

Description
NOTE: This course outline was prepared for the semester opening Spring, 2010, and additional revisions may be made. Changes after Jan 11, 2008, will be discussed in class before they are made. F. Fuller. October 30, 2009

From the UNCP Catalog:
SOC 3670. Social Deviance (CRJ 3670)
Theories of deviant behavior are examined, with selected examples of deviance reviewed in detail. Spring. Credit, 3 sem. hrs. PREREQ: CRJ 2400 (SOC 2400) or permission of the instructor.

Class focus for the semester: SOC/CRJ 3670 Section 400 (CRN 21935 & CRN 21917) follows the constructionist perspective among sociologists, where social deviance is examined in the context of societal responses to individuals who are defined and responded to as troublesome by members of the society. Students are reminded of the analyze social issues and conditions in terms of the social problem process (Best, 2008), which is the progression of troubling issues through claimsmaking to policy outcomes, and includes media coverage, public reaction, policy making and the work of individuals tasked formally and informally with the solutions to identified social problems (social workers, police, teachers, preachers, health care providers, political activists, parents, members of the armed services, financiers, bankers, merchants, lawyers, publishers, researchers, politicians, and drug dealers, to name a few). Cross-cultural (i.e. international) comparisons underscore the broad applicability of the constructionist analytical model.

Class methods: SOC/CRJ 3670-400 meets for three hours on Monday evenings with two fifteen minute breaks (450 minutes)fifty minutes, for fourteen weeks. The class meeting on the fifteenth week is the two & one-half hour final exam period. Class activities include lecture, in-class discussion, scenario games, “friendly quizzes,” and student presentations. Class preparation and follow-up, through reading the assigned text, through World Wide Web exploration and through online Blackboard participation is expected. Because so many issues individuals assigned deviant status in modern society, cooperative group work is assigned to “spread the workload” across many problems of interest, but no grades are given as “group grades.” All grading is for individual accomplishment.

Objectives
SOC/CRJ 3670 Social Deviance is an elective social theory course in the sociology and criminal justice major area curriculum. The objective of the course is to give students regular, consistant and extended opportunity to HEAR the language of social theory, to SPEAK the language, to READ the language, and to WRITE the language, with the goal being, that after fifteen weeks, each student can begin the analysis of the social construction of ANY behavior or condition introduced as socially deviant.

Course Materials
Textbook(s)
Required: Robert Heiner (2008) Deviance Across Cultures (New York: Oxford University Press). ISBN 978-0-19-517709-1 (paperback)

Recommended: Paul, Richard and Linda Elder. The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking: Concepts & Tools. Dillon Beach, CA: The Foundation for Critical Thinking.

Course Resource Links
Schedule
Constitution of the United States of America
APA format citation style from the WEB
CriminalJustice Websites, thru NC Justice Academy, Salemburg
The Justice Research Association (JRA)CYBRARY CYBRARY">
cj info

Grading Policy
General. Assignment due dates are announced in advance. There are no points-off penalties for late work while semester classes are in session. Grade F (zero) is earned by any assignment turned in later than the end of the Last Day of Class, unless arrangements are made for an incomplete.

Grade equivalents (the transformation of "the 100% correct" scale to letter grades and quality points) show on the scale below called "Final Grades."

Some grades count for more than others. In the section below called "Grade Components," weights are percentages given for each grade component. You may have many grades making up a grade component, as in class participation, for instance. Or you may have only one grade carrying the full "weight" of that component, as in final exam, for instance. The points (out of 100% total points representing Percent Correct for the semester) show for each grade in your Blackboard gradebook. That gradebook reports your grades to you as they are recorded. Only the instructor can see (or change!) all the student grades.

ADDITONALLY, PLEASE NOTE: The University supports a variety of accommodations to the needs of students with disabilities. The policy reads, in part: In post-secondary settings, it is the student's responsibility to request accommodations, if desired. It is important to remember that not every student with a disability needs accommodation. It is equally important to remember that even though two individuals may have the same disability, they may not need the same accommodation. Disability Support Services, UNC Pembroke. Please contact Dr. Fuller with questions and concerns about this and any other aspects of evaluation and grading.

Grades will be posted on Blackboard as they are earned. Students are responsible for contacting the instructor if they believe a mistake has been made in the grading or the reporting of the grade. Final grades are posted to BraveWeb for the official record.

For your information, any final grade can be challenged. See the Undergraduate Grade Appeal Process policy from the Faculty Handbook contained in full, below. This policy is also found in the Student Handbook.

Grade Components
 Name 
 Weight 
  Subject
Attendance & Participation
20%
 Everything counts.
Ten Written Analysis Assignments
50%
  
Midterm Exam
15%
 In-class Feb 22, 2010. Multiple Choice from Friendly Quizzes on Explaining Deviance (Heiner, Part 1, pp. xi-50)
Final Exam
15%
 In-class May 3, 2010. Oral & written.

Attendance Policy
Class attendance and participation is expected. Some issues regarding the impact of general flu epidemic policies and procedures may require responses in the course of the semester, and a general request to address these issues in course outlines has been made by the University General Administration in Chapel Hill. Briefly,
  • (1) this class will only be suspended administratively if epidemic response requirements force facility closings at Richmond Community College where the class meets. This will require attention of students to Richmond rather than the main UNCP campus and the main webpages for information regarding forced closings. Please see Ms Julie Layne for emergency contact info for Richmond.
  • (2) A facility closing will not mean the automatic suspension of student responsibility to continue study and class contact other than face-to-face.
  • (3) Fall-back communication methods include Blackboard, email. telephone (910-733-5317 for contact with Dr. Fuller) and U.S. Mail.
  • (4) Minimum expectations for student participation, regardless of personal illness or institutional responses to epidemic threats include the completion of the ten written assignments, and a passing grade on the midterm and final exams.
  • (5) Flu symptoms and advice are fairly widespread now, so please note this class policy on how you should treat your own personal illness of any kind: if you are ill (fever, chills, sore throat, stuffy head, upset stomach and digestive system, dizziness, coughing, head cold and sinus symptoms, or on medication that prevents you from thinking clearly, or if you have to care for a family member) STAY HOME and inform Dr. Fuller and three or four of your classmates to make arrangements for electronic participation (simultaneous and/or delayed.)

Student Conduct & Honor Code
Students will read and adhere to The UNCP Student Honor Code. This should be a direct link to The Student Honor Code .

After reading the Honor Code, please email fran.fuller@uncp.edu to let me know whether or not you have (1) read the Honor Code, (2) have any questions about any part of it, and (3) agree or disagree with any portions of it.

Our academic honor code applies, in its entirety, to all aspects of the course. See UNC Pembroke Catalog, p. 47. In the online pdf version, scroll down to page 47. The code concludes with advice to instructors: "Students have the responsibility to know and observe the UNCP Academic Honor Code" (p. 50).

Looking for further assistance?
Any student with a documented disability needing academic adjustments is requested to speak directly to Disability Support Services and the instructor, as early in the semester (preferably within the first week) as possible. ACCOMODATIONS PROCESS LINK. .

All discussions with Disability Support Services will remain confidential. Please contact Disability Support Services, UNC Pembroke, DF Lowry Building, or call 910-521-6695.

This web-based publication is available in alternative formats upon request. Please contact Disability Support Services, DF Lowry Building, Room 197, or call 521-6695.

Retirement Alert!
Dr. Fuller formally retired July 1, 2009, and is teaching part with only the responsibilities of an adjunct professor. (This means she gave up her office with that big window. There on campus you will find Dr. Roger Guy!) Now that she's retired, you can call her Dr. Franny in person. She is available, at your convenience, on her cell: 910-733-5317. Call. Don't suffer in silence.

Name Change Alert!
Dr. Fuller was Dr. Haga until her marriage December 16, 2001 to Fred Fuller. The Fullers reside in Pembroke, North Carolina.

Other Information
Policy (Fuller) in Regard to Classroom and Personal Security: Issues concerning current events and matters touching on classroom safety and personal security are always part of a curriculum in Sociology and Criminal Justice. These matters and any pertinent classroom procedures will be handled as they arise. Pertinent procedures will be announced in class discussion. Students are encouraged to remember that classroom procedures vary widely in the University setting and students, as adults responsible for their own safety and security, are free to enter and leave the classroom as their personal needs dictate.

Updated October 30, 2009 | fran.fuller@uncp.edu | Copyright © 2009 The University of North Carolina at Pembroke