Section 4 :: Deviant Minds..? (Part II - after Spring Break)

After Spring Break we will be continuing our discussions on the social construction of "sick" and what we consider to be individual vs. societal issues.

For March 20, we will take a slightly different look at violence than we did at the beginning of this section when we look at the concept of self-harm. What happens when we want to turn violence inward, and cause ourselves harm? Is that okay? Should we be able to legally do whatever we want to our own bodies? If we do cause ourselves harm, is it because we are "sick" or is it a valid form of self expression? Is it the result of other social constructions around gender, and so forth? What causes some people to self harm? Are some people/groups more or less likely to participate in self harm? We will be talking about several types of behaviors that have been considered "self-harm" including cutting (and related behaviors), Body Integrity Identity Disorder and eating disorders.

• Read "Self-Injurers: A 'Lonely Crowd'" by deviance scholars Adler and Adler in your textbook.
• Read "Pro-Ana Websites Abound" by Jaime Kapalko on Salon.
• Read "Teens Self-Mutilate, Embed Objects in Skin" by Elizabeth Landau on CNN Health.
• Watch "Whose Leg Is This" (4:56) from National Geographic Channel's Taboo, pasted below.

We will complete this section on March 22 with a discussion on drug and alcohol use. Why are some drugs seen as "dangerous" while others are seen as viable recreational opportunities, with wide public support? With any drug, why does one level of consumption get perceived as "normal" (to varying degrees) while another level of consumption gets labeled as "sick"? Who gets to decide when you have crossed that line? What groups benefit from some drugs being made legal, and others kept illegal? Who gets to influence policy decisions? What are the advantages and disadvantages to seeing drugs and alcohol as a medical issues? What about seeing them as deviance? Which drugs, if any, should be controlled? Is that a medical, or criminological decision?

• Read "Hey Don't Blame Me...Blame The Booze" by Robert L. Peralta, available in your textbook.
• Read "OxyContin: A Prescription for Disaster" by Inciardi and Goode, also available in your textbook.
• Read about a 2011 World Health Organization (WHO) study on alcohol in the article "Alcohol Kills More than AIDS, TB Or Violence: WHO" by Stephanie Nebehay on Reuters.
• Read "The Never-Ending Debate: The Legal Drinking Age in the U.S." by attorney Jeffrey Meldon.
• Read "Scoring Drugs: Drugs That Cause Most Harm" from The Economist.