The Relativity of Deviance - Softcover

Curra, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1452202621 ISBN 13: 9781452202624

Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc, 2013

Synopsis

The Relativity of Deviance provides a high-level of analysis of the relativity of deviance in a short, clearly-written primer intended for use alongside all of the major core deviance textbooks on the market. It answers such questions as: What is Deviant? What is deviant behavior? How should the deviant be treated? Why is the same act sometimes praised and sometimes condemned? Author John Curra answers these questions and more as he explores the meanings of social deviance and public reaction to it. Readers will see that what qualifies as deviance varies from place to place, time to time, and situation to situation.

Through humorous, sad, and thought-provoking examples about the blue people of Kentucky, a woman who believes she is a vampire, autoerotic asphyxiates, and others, Curra illustrates that deviance cannot be explained in terms of absolutes, nor can it be understood apart from its social setting. This book approaches sex, violence, theft, drugs, and mental disorders in such a way that definitive or objective judgments become impossible.

About this title

About the Author

John Curra (PhD, Purdue University) is a professor at Eastern Kentucky University where he has taught courses in introductory sociology, social deviance, criminology, sociological analysis, social problems, social psychology, juvenile delinquency, and criminological theory since 1975. He has taught. In 1981, he received the prestigious Excellence in Teaching Award from the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. In 2005–2007, he was selected as a Foundation Professor, one of the highest honors a professor can receive at Eastern Kentucky University. In 2012, Curra moved to the Department of Criminal Justice in the School of Justice Studies. That same year, he was awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award by the Department of Criminal Justice in the College of Justice and Safety. Curra has authored or co-authored several texts, an instructor’s manual, and a reader.

Edition details

• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1452202621
• ISBN 13: 9781452202624
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 384