Deviance, Crime, and Control: Beyond the Straight and Narrow

by Lorne Tepperman

Unlike most deviance books, An Introduction to Deviance, Crime, and Beyond the Straight and Narrow assumes that deviance is, in fact, normal and conformity is socially constructed. Social order, by this standard, is an ongoing accomplishment. The mere existence of the idea of deviance, and the 'discovery' of deviance, tells us about a society's degree of cohesion, tolerance, and control over individuals. The struggle to achieve stable uniformity―an absence of deviance―is an unending effort that can never succeed. The benchmarks for what constitutes as 'deviance' are constantly changing, as are the limits of tolerable difference. This book asks whether earlier expectations are still appropriate and, if they are not, what we can reasonably expect societies to offer their members as they pass through the life cycle.

350 pages, Paperback

First published December 8, 2005

Reviews

[Lyndsay-ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've taken classes and have learnt a lot about deviance and crime from a psychology point of view, so it was interesting to learn about deviance and crime from a sociological point of view. These two fields are both very similar and different from each other, and who they affect. Psychology = the person, sociology = the society.

This book covers a wide range of different types of deviance and crime, who is and how society is affected. Some of the theories I've learnt about before, but there was a lot of information I didn't know, so I did learn quite a bit from this book.

And I though it was quite funny. This is a university text book, and I've graduated and now reading text books for fun.