Political trials and the social construction of deviance

Labeling the Deviant Act: Toward a General Theory of Deviant Behavior

1972

The labeling perspective is analyzed in terms of its contribution to the development of a general theory of deviant behavior. The implicit model of social organization framing the labeling process is described, and the limiting conditions for its application explored. Special attention is accorded to the interplay between social organizational and social psychological levels of analysis, and areas of interpenetration between the labeling model and the more traditional interpretations of deviance. Three imaoes of the deviant suggested by the labeling approach are examined: the deviant as outsider, the oversocialized deviant, and the deviant as convert. Each of these images is discussed in terms of its consequences for the elaboration and refinement of a theory of deviance. Several aspects of deviant socialization are outlined as a basis for modifying and extending the labeling approach.

The hegemonic narrative and the social construction of deviance: the case of the Black Hand

Trends in Organized Crime, 2010

This essay examines Black Hand crime in the city of Chicago from 1892 to 1931. The Black Hand was a crude method of crime in which Italian immigrants and others were extorted for money. This research argues that much of what we know about Black Hand crime is a media construction. The method of analysis used to conduct this investigation involved the content analysis of 280 newspaper accounts of Black Hand crime. This essay also examines the institutional legacy of the Black Hand phenomenon and argues that the inappropriate linking of Black Hand crime to the Sicilian Mafia led to the development of the alien conspiracy theory, forever linking organized crime in American society to the Italian immigrant. This essay concludes that the media play an important role in defining the societal construction of crime. The findings also support the social constructionist argument that definitions of deviance are subjectively determined. Keywords Black Hand. Mafia. Newsmaking criminology. Social constructionism. Hegemonic narrative Crime, as any other form of deviance, is typically viewed by the legal community as an act that is harmful or dangerous to society. Sociologists, however, have come to recognize that not all definitions of crime are objectively determined; some are a human creation (Berger and Luckmann 1967). The subjective or social constructionist perspective views deviance as a process of definition. The process of constructing and applying definitions of deviance can be understood as a moral enterprise, which involves the construction of moral meanings and their association with specific acts, groups, or conditions. This is not to say that the constructionist perspective denies objective harm, but to argue that social concern is influenced in a number of ways such as time and place, the social organization of society, and the influence of those who have the power to form public opinion. By viewing deviance in this fashion, we raise the possibility that the societal definition may be independent of the objective harm.

Chapter Six: Deviance and Social Control

 Explain the concept of deviance and why it is relative in nature. Analyze how ideal and real norms work together in determining what is deviant.  Compare and contrast the competing explanations of deviance.  Discuss the differential association theory.  Explore the control and labeling theories.  Identify how deviance can be functional for society.  Understand the strain theory and summarize the four deviant paths outlined in it.  Explain how street crime and white-collar crime reflect opportunity structures.  Explore the conflict perspective and its views on class, crime, and the criminal justice system.  Analyze the varied reactions to deviance.  Discuss how homelessness and mental illness are reciprocal.

Deviance and Social Control

The Social Construction of Justice, Between Normality and Devience

2010

In this study we propose to analyze the way the act of justice behaves a series of social engineering. Starting from the building social theory measure expressed by the P. Berger and Th.E. Luckmann and taking into account the research made by A. Cicourel in the 1960's,we believe that we can talk about a phenomenon of social construction in the field of justice. Research of two criminal papers, direct observations and the documentation made, have highlighted this fact. Moreover, our research led to the finding of two types of social construction of justice, one that is part of the normality logic (innocent social construction) and one which subscribes to abnormality (guilty social construction).

The rhetoric of deviance: criminals, outlaws, and deviants in history (ideologies, history, law, literature, iconography...).

Acta Histriae, 15, 2007, 1, pp. 1-52., 2007

The paper deals with the concepts of deviance and crime defined through the course of centuries. The rhetoric describing deviant behaviour has significant value for historical research. Repressive as well as mild ideologies are thus contradictorily juxtaposed, resulting in the emergence of a complex array of social characters, traditionally relegated to the darkest and most negative corners of the past.

Images of Deviance and Social Control: A Sociological History

1985

1. Images Of Deviance And Social Control: An Introduction. 2. The Demonic Perspective: Other Worldly Interpretations Of Deviance. 3. The Classical Perspective: Deviance As Rational Hedonism. 4. The Pathological Perspective: Deviance As Sickness. 5. The Social Disorganization Perspective: Rapid Change And Normative Breakdown In The Slums Of Chicago. 6. The Functionalist Perspective: Cybernetics, Negative Feedback, And The Benefits of Deviance. 7. The Anomie Perspective: Normlessness, Inequality, And Deviant Aspirations. 8. The Learning Perspective: Acquiring Deviance In Association With Others. 9. The Societal Reaction Perspective: Labeling And The Social Construction Of Deviance. 10. Critical Perspectives: Toward A Power-Reflexive Deconstruction Of Deviance And Difference. 11. Critical Perspectives: Social Theory And Social Change.

Punishment, danger and stigma: the morality of criminal justice

1980

There is no space here to do justice to all the topics dealt with in this collection, which include the nature and importance of rights, .social contract theory in Hume and Kant, civil disobedience, paternalism, and the death penalty. All the papers are vigorously argued and written with admirable clarity and a refreshing absence of jargon; the book would make a stimulating text for an undergraduate course in the philosophy of law. One serious irritant should be noted. Although the author claims he has revised his work for republication, there is an annoying amount not just of repetition but of plain duplication. Whole paragraphs on pp. 7819, for example, are duplicated en bloc on pp. 8314, and then served up again, word for word, on pp. g g /~o o. (The aspiring academic will get a valuable lesson here on how to swell his publication list by rearranging the same material for different journals.) There are other signs of lack of proper revision. In his "Kantian Essay on Psychopathy", Murphy argues that psychopaths cannot be the bearers of rights. Yet another essay, "Rights and Borderline Cases", published subsequently but printed earlier in the collection, completely undermines this argument by articulating a certain kind of right (viz. a "social contract right") which the psychopath could possess. A little more work with the scissors and paste could have given more cohesion and unity to what is nevertheless a very useful collection.

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