The Deviant Mystique: Involvements, Realities, and Regulation

Front Cover
Bloomsbury Academic, Feb 28, 2003 - Social Science - 328 pages

Adopting a symbolic interactionist perspective and building extensively on the ethnographic research tradition, this book analyzes the mystique that often accompanies deviance by examining deviance as an ongoing feature of community life. Because deviance is approached in nonprescriptive ways, as a product of community interchange, the emphasis here is on the ways in which deviance is defined, engaged, and regulated. It is examined as the product of human association, as something that is generated by people as they interact with one another, assume viewpoints and initiatives, and try to influence and resist one another within the context of community life. Prus and Grills do not attempt to address various deviant behaviors; instead, they provide readers with a glimpse into how deviance is formulated, practiced, viewed, and treated.

Who defines deviance? Why? What are the effects of deviance on others? How do subcultures form? These and other questions are answered in this unique approach to the study of deviance. Providing a conceptually coherent framework for approaching the study of deviance as an ongoing feature of the human community, the authors pay special attention to the many theaters of operation in which people come together and engage one another with respect to morality and deviance. Recognizing that audience definitions of deviance are pivotal to community notions of reality and actual interaction, consideration is given to the interrelated processes of defining deviance, identifying deviants, regulating deviance informally and formally, and experiencing treatment and disinvolvement. This thoughtful consideration serves to shed new light on the mystique that has been created around ideas about deviance.

From inside the book

 

Contents

Fascination Indignation
3
Human Knowing and Acting
15
3
21
Copyright

15 other sections not shown

Common terms and phrases

achieve acknowledge activities adjustments agents of control analysts and/or aspects assessing associates assume attempt attend audiences basis Becker become behavior Blumer chapter collective events concerns consequential consider consideration contexts control agencies deal define definitions of deviance degradation ceremonies develop deviant mystique disinvolvement disreputable disrespectability emotional emotionality emphasis encounter endeavors engage envision ethnographic research examine extended focused George Herbert Mead Goffman Herbert Blumer highly Howard Becker human group identities insiders instances interactionist interchange interests intersubjective invoke involvements in deviance Kando labeling labeling theory Lemert life-worlds Likewise Lofland mass media matters ments objectives outlaw bikers outsiders participants particular subcultures people's experiences people's involvements perspectives practices problematic Prus and Irini Prus and Sharper pursue reflect regulation reinvolvements Relatedly relationships relevant resist respect roles sense settings skid row solitary deviance sorts specific study of deviance sustained symbolic interaction symbolic interactionism tacticians targets things third parties transgendering trouble troublesome viance viewpoints

About the author (2003)

ROBERT PRUS is Professor of Sociology at the University of Waterloo. His published books include Symbolic Interaction and Ethnographic Research, Subcultural Mosaics and Intersubjective Realities, and Beyond the Power of Mystique, among others.

SCOTT GRILLS is Dean of Arts and Associate Professor of Sociology at Brandon University in Manitoba. He is the editor of Doing Ethnographic Reasearch: Fieldwork Settings and has served on the editorial board of the Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology and the interdisciplinary journal Dianoia.

Bibliographic information

TitleThe Deviant Mystique: Involvements, Realities, and Regulation
AuthorsScott Grills, Robert Prus
PublisherBloomsbury Academic, 2003
ISBN0275978222, 9780275978228
Length328 pages
Subjects ›  › 

Social Science / Sociology / General
  
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