Drawing on the materials and information provided in class, students are required to write a 2-3 page paper addressing the concept from a sociological perspective. This is not an opinion piece nor is it a regurgitation of ideas and concepts addressed in class. Rather, you are to take the information from outside research to provide context about the subject matter and explore the concept of deviance. This paper will be written in APA format, 12-point font, with a formal cover page, reference page (which does not count as one of your 2-3 pages) but does not require an abstract. You are to find a minimum of three sources and should consult the library. For this assignment, you are to ignore internet sources unless it is a journal article from an academic database.

For this paper, we will focus on crime and deviance. Students will need to choose ONE person(s) from the following: Aileen Wuornos, John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Albert DeSalvo, O.J. Simpson, Bernie Madoff, or Ray and Faye Copeland. I will provide a sign-up sheet so that not everyone is writing about the same individual. We will discuss the number in class. If there is someone else of interest, please come see me first. After choosing the person to research, students will detail (using a sociological perspective) why this (these) person(s) committed their crimes. In other words, using both macro and micro analysis, discuss events in their social environment including any traumatic past as a catalyst to their deviant behavior. Under macro students may use functionalism, strain theory, illegitimate opportunity structure, or the conflict perspective. For micro, this includes labeling theory, differential association theory, and other key theories discussed in chapter 6. (Key terms may also include: social environment, agents of socialization, culture, social class, status, groups.) This is the students chance to demonstrate theory to practice; therefore, the crimes and person(s) must be analyzed from the SOC perspective. While you may insert other explanations for their behavior, the center focus must be from a social environment position.