Written Report #1 due Feb 8 in class
Answer all questions
below and remember to use the referencing and citation style from the syllabus.
1. Evaluate rational
choice theories of deviance.
2. Discuss the authors’
evaluation of biological approaches to explaining deviance.
3. Discuss Messner and
Rosenfeld’s (1997) explanation of crime and the “American dream.”
What are the strengths and weaknesses of this explanation?
Do you see current examples?
4. Discuss the basic
assumptions, strengths and weaknesses of the conflict model.
Written Report #2 due
Feb. 29 in class
Remember referencing
1. What is the typical
occasional offender like, why do they do it, and how do they compare to T.V. or
film criminals? Use a specific case
from the media to make your points.
2. Compare the
occasional offenders to professional offenders
3. Why have we seen an
explosion in the U.S. prison population since the 1980s? What would you suggest
as a solution? Tie your answer to
one of the theories from class.
4. Discuss in detail
the reasons organized crime is so hard to eradicate.
Written Report #3 due
March 21 in class
Remember referencing
1. What features of a
normal life promote drug use?
2. Use examples of
doping in sports to discuss the role of drugs in society. Pick an example from
the media.
3. What is the evidence
for and against calling marijuana a “gateway drug?”
4. What are the pros
and cons of the drug laws and treatment tactics used by other countries
presented in the text?
Written Report #4 due
April 11 in class
Remember referencing
1. What are some of the
similarities and differences among different countries mentioned in the book
regarding social patterns in suicide?
Are there any general trends that appear largely universal?
2. Define the five
types of suicide outlined by Durkheim and others in your text, and provide
examples of each. Which type is most
likely to explain the higher rates of suicide among the elderly and why?
3. Discuss the
sociological explanation for suicide you think is the best explanation.
Why is it the best?
4. What are the
arguments for and against physician-assisted suicide?
Written Report #5 due
May 2 in class
Remember referencing
1. What are the basic
social patterns of mental illness based on the variables of gender, age,
race/ethnicity, and marital status?
2. How does social
distress contribute to mental illness?
3. How is mental
illness related to the inability to shift roles and performing the role of a
mentally ill person?
4. Discuss the social
dimensions of eating disorders.