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Deviance in Everyday Life

Personal Accounts of Unconventional Lives

 

Erich Goode

 

Deviance is a reality in all of our lives. In the author’s words, it “is both an analytic sociological concept and a lived experience, both a label that is applied and an emotional reality that is sustained.” This book looks at deviance as it is lived. The personal accounts give a voice to the human beings who lead unconventional lives and experience stigma as a result. These narratives allow the reader a glimpse into the lives of unconventional people who experience society’s sanctions for violating its norms. The first two chapters set the stage for the reader’s voyage of discovery through the accounts. The structure of each narrative, what the author includes and excludes, and how individual voices organize and shape the raw material of their lives offer different responses to numerous questions: How is deviance created? How are judgments of norm violations decided and by whom? What sanctions are applied? What do personal accounts tell us about how social relations work? How do people who know they are violating a norm negotiate their relations with persons who accept that norm? How do rule violators experience sanctions? How does the experience influence their way of looking at the world? What do accounts reveal about both deviance and conventionality?

Paranormal Beliefs

 

$23.95 list, 271 pages

10-digit ISBN: 1-57766-204-0

13-digit ISBN: 978-1-57766-204-4

© 2002

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“An excellent contribution to the Sociology of Deviance literature. A must for those who teach undergraduates in this area.”  — Carol A. B. Warren, University of Kansas

 

“In this thought-provoking book, Goode challenges our usual assumptions about ‘deviants’ as somehow different from the rest of us. His examination of the accounts of persons labeled as ‘deviant’ suggests that many do not seek to become deviant, but end up on that path through a variety of both conventional and unconventional experiences, and usually while in the pursuit of normative behavior. The book is a departure from the usual sociological and criminological accounts of deviance, and presents a social constructionist perspective. I would recommend this book to anyone who is seeking a more holistic understanding of deviance.  — Stuart Henry, Wayne State University

 

“I love the idea of personal accounts.”  — Marelle Cohen, University of Puget Sound

 

“Goode’s latest book will inspire students. Students are fascinated by the examples he presents. Goode offers a colorful variety of ‘deviants’—but ultimately, students will be challenged to ask the questions: ‘But are they really deviant?’ and ‘Who decides what is deviant?’ Anyone interested in qualitative research methods should read this book. Goode’s methodology is creative, useful, and inspiring.”  — Todd Schoepflin, Niagara University

 

“Goode has but together a number of original ethnographic accounts that provide the reader with a profound sense of the subjective experience of people whose lives are struggles with stigma management.”  — Marvin Scott, Hunter College, CUNY

 

“The book was excellent and refreshing in its approach to deviance as normal. It is well written and the choice of topics is broad. It would be a terrific choice for students at a higher level than entry into criminology because it evokes the questions one must reflect upon without forcing assumptions onto the reader.”  — Chantal Faucher, Simon Fraser University
 

Table of Contents

 

1. Introduction

2. Deviance in Everyday Life

3. Danny, the Autistic Artist

4. Dwight, the Salacious Chauffeur

5. Sally, the Voluptuous Venus

6. Annette, the Anguished Anorexic

7. Leslie and Helen, Loving Lesbian Moms

8. Harry, the Debonair Drinker

9. Jeff, the Male Madam

10. Lenny, the Laissez-Faire Leatherman

11. Sam, Defender of the Downtrodden

12. Fred, the Philosophical Felon

13. The Use of Accounts in the Study of Deviance