Deviance Across Cultures

Book excerpt: Are "deviant" and "criminal" behaviors inherently wrong or evil? Taking an innovative cross-cultural approach, Deviance Across Cultures spans the globe to give instructors an invaluable new resource for investigating the social construction of deviance. From studies on prostitution and drugs to examinations of religion and corporate deviance, this anthology--a collection of both classic and contemporary articles--responds to the growing need for interdisciplinary and global learning in deviance studies. To create a strong framework for inquiry, editor Robert Heiner has written a comprehensive introduction to each article that emphasizes the topic's relationship to theory and to ongoing trends affecting the United States and other countries. Throughout, careful attention to distant cultures will encourage students to understand deviance from an academic--and less emotional--perspective. Ideal as either a main text or a supplementary reader, this collection builds on classic deviance theory and basic sociological concepts to introduce students to this complex subject. With its rich global perspective, Deviance Across Cultures will challenge and expand students' assumptions about social deviance--both at home and abroad.