This course is based on the premise that deviance is a socially constructed phenomenon. This means that the attributes, behaviors and conditions humans label 'deviant' vary over time and place, as do societal reactions to them. Students will be introduced to agents of social control, both formal and informal, as well as the role such control and power differentials plays in defining, labeling, and sanctioning deviant behavior. The material covered in the course examines theories of deviant behavior, how social scientists study deviant behavior, how deviant behavior is socially constructed, how people manage deviant identities, how relationships operate in deviant subcultures and countercultures, and the relationships between deviant subcultures and mainstream culture.