In this week’s chapter, you learned that even our understanding of deviance and the identities that come from deviance are socially constructed. Luckily for you there are always examples of deviance and the response to that deviance in plain view in our media. Our media loves the drama of deviance and reports abound. Near the time of writing this prompt, the perfect example occurred when Chris Rock made a joke in poor taste at the 2022 Oscars about Jada Pinkett Smith, at which point Will Smith jumped up and slapped him in the face right on national television. The entire election and subsequent unelection of Donald Trump was rife with deviant behaviors, from the way he spoke to constituents, to the way he presented himself on television, to his picks for everything from Supreme Court Justice to head of the Department of Education. For this week’s assignment you will be analyzing your choice of media event or situation that provides a great example of how deviance is negotiated and constructed in our society. For your response posts, you will find other ways to apply information from the chapter to the construction of deviance and identity.
Required Textbook:
Sandstrom, Kent L., Kathryn J. Lively, Daniel D. Martin, and Gary Alan Fine. 2014. Symbols, Selves, and Social Reality: A Symbolic Interactionist Approach to Social Psychology and Sociology. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780199933754
