Deviance in Everyday Life: Personal Accounts of Unconventional Lives [Paperback]

Erich Goode (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2001

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 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 account. 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?

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Title of related interest available from Waveland Press: Pfohl, Images of Deviance and Social Control: A Sociological History, Second Edition (ISBN 9781577666196).

Product Details

• Paperback: 271 pages
• Publisher: Waveland Pr Inc (July 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1577662040
• ISBN-13: 978-1577662044
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,900,726 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting read!, April 14, 2010

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T. Martin (West Virginia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Deviance in Everyday Life: Personal Accounts of Unconventional Lives (Paperback)

I am a Sociology major and my professor assigned several chapters as extra reading for class. The personal accounts were so good that I had to read the whole book. This book is great for anyone interested in the micro level of society.