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Deflem, M. (2017). Anomie, Strain, and Opportunity Structure [PDF]. In The Handbook of the History and Philosophy of Criminology (Vols. 140–155, pp. 140–155). https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119011385.ch8

Gillborn, D. (2015). Intersectionality, critical race theory, and the primacy of racism. Qualitative Inquiry, 21(3), 277–287. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800414557827

Heys, E. (2024). Cultural Evolution: Measuring differences in generational values. In youngamericans.berkeley.edu. https://youngamericans.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Cultural-Evolution_v1.pdf

Lee, H. (2024, July 15). The changing generational values. Imagine | Johns Hopkins University. https://imagine.jhu.edu/blog/2022/11/17/the-changing-generational-values/

Levin, S. (2024, September 21). South Carolina executes first man in 13 years despite new evidence of innocence. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/sep/20/south-carolina-death-row-prisoner-execution

Murphy, D. S., & Robinson, M. B. (2008). The Maximizer: Clarifying Merton’s theories of anomie and strain. Theoretical Criminology, 12(4), 501–521. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362480608097154

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Sociology is the study of human society, behaviours, and interactions. Sociology, as I find now, is extremely important when wanting to understand our culture and WHY things happen around us. You can use sociology to explain things at a societal or personal level.

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This progress activity instructed us to look at a particular age group and answer questions related to their characteristics and socialisation.

My group was assigned the Greatest Generation, born from 1901 to 1927, now in the late adulthood stage (if alive), with their defining events as both world wars and the great depression.

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This progress activity instructed us to talk with a partner about topics related to race and ethnicity and then reflect on those conversations through the exit ticket. The exit ticket asked what durable skills were used when having those conversations, then asking us to summarise one interesting idea that either you or your partner shared, and finally asking what the importance is of academic integrity in discussions of race and ethnicity.

Me and my partner talked about all topics, but mostly centred on the last: The problems with saying "I don't see colour" in which we outlined that it erases marginalisation through the lack of intersectionality. I then outlined that academic integrity is important because it encourages trust, and how plagiarism can lead to future discussions being seen as disingenuous.

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This progress activity focuses on analysing theories that attempt to explain why deviance happens through a 3-2-1 format that asks three questions (who, what, and how), allows you to ask two questions, and finally asks you to provide one example showing the theory you chose. For my progress activity, I decided to look into Merton’s Strain theory. I chose this theory since I felt it connected with my personal views on deviance before this lesson.

For my two questions, I asked whether this theory applied to wealthier individuals (as the theory seemed set on those of lower income), and whether or not this theory applied to different age groups.

For my example, I made up a scenario in which a Durham College student steals from his job to have a laptop for class since he lacked the funds to buy a new one.

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Merton's Strain theory explains that deviancy is caused by the pressure brought on by societal structures, especially when there is a lack of means to achieve societal goals. Merton's research was based on 1950s America, in which the dominant ideology and culture were centred around monetary success and prestige.

Key concepts include:

CULTURAL GOALS: These are the goals and ambitions that society promotes and celebrates. These goals are more likely to orient around wealth and social status.

INSTITUTIONS: Institutions in society that are conventional means of achieving goals, such as education and employment.

SOCIAL RESPONSES: Merton identified 5 responses to strain and structural inequalities, explaining how each person could adapt to strain. These responses are as follows:

Conformity - following societal goals and achieving them by conventional means. This is usually seen as the status quo in society

Innovation - following societal goals and achieving them through illegitimate means

Ritualism - performing societal roles but giving up on societal goals

Retreatism - rejecting both societal goals and ways to achieve them

Rebellion - replacing current societal goals with new ones to create social change

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The activity both reinforced and challenged some of the ideas of deviance I had before this lesson. For the former, my perspective of deviance had similar ideas to Merton's Strain theory, in which I thought that people commit crimes due to societal and economic pressure.

However, this activity also challenged my ideas by pointing out that not everyone has goals that are aligned with society's ambitions. Merton's Strain theory is more of a generalist look into deviancy, its best application only for the lower classes, neglecting to explain why people of wealth commit crimes. Additionally, the theory fails to explain why not everyone in the lower class commits crimes.

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Merton's Strain Theory is rooted in the Structural-Functional perspective.

Structural-functionalism states that a stable society has interrelated parts that work together to achieve order through equilibrium. Functionalism sees deviance as a dysfunction, a threat to stability, but an inevitable and necessary part of society, thus fostering the idea that a latent function of crime is pushing solidarity and change.

The Strain Theory, like the functionalist perspective, also assumes that everyone is in consensus with society when it comes to their goals and values. Both push the ideology that crime can lead to social change and solidarity amongst the masses.

Merton states that societies place a stronger cultural emphasis on the goals of wealth and prestige over institutionalised means. The Strain theory pushes the same rhetoric then, in which crime is to be expected when the pursuit of societal goals is halted due to the faults in our cultural structure. (Murphy & Robinson, 2008)

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This progress activity defines race and ethnicity, stereotypes and prejudice, and intersectionality, specifically as concepts that pertain to each individual and how it's embedded in our sociological imagination.

This activity reinforced my idea that intersectionality is extremely important in all sorts of discussions of race and ethnicity. No one is advantaged or disadvantaged in the same way.

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I first read The Maximizer: Clarifying Merton's Theories of Anomie and Strain by Daniel S. Murphy and Matthew B. Robinson. The paper builds off of Merton's Strain Theory, combining conformity and innovation, suggesting that the 'Maximiser' achieves cultural goals through both conventional and illegitimate means. I found this paper through Google Scholar with the keywords 'capitalism' and 'Strain Theory'.

Then I read Anomie, Strain, and Opportunity Structure: Robert K. Merton's Paradigm of Deviant Behavior by Mathieu Deflem, which derived from the book The Handbook of the History and Philosophy of Criminology. Deflem elaborates Merton's ideas on strain and anomie, also discussing the history of strain and its future when intertwined with Marx's theories.

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I think what shocked me the most was how this progress activity and lesson highlighted how much of a conformist (by Merton's standards) I am. Although my goals and values aren't solely related to money and success, there still is an underlying need to conform to societal and cultural goals. For example, I want to have a career that can help people out, but I also need that same career to support me monetarily. It is hard for me to imagine achieving this goal through illegitimate means, as it is ingrained in me to follow my morals and values, in which are aligned with society's.

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This progress activity is rooted in the Social Conflict theory, specifically the aptly named Racial-conflict theory.

Race-conflict theory examines the dichotomy and tension between the dominant group (which in this case is the white majority) and racial and ethnic minorities. This theory reviews the history of that power struggle, especially in cases of marginalisation and inequality, and applies it to our daily lives.

This theory allows us to examine inequities in our lives, especially how it is rooted in our societal structures and how we can bring about social change when examining our history.

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I first read Intersectionality, Critical Race Theory, and the Primacy of Racism: Race, Class, Gender, and Disability in Education by David Gillborn. The paper iterates that intersectionality is needed in academia drawing from their research on Black middle-class families in England.

Then, I read Race, Ethnicity and Disability: The Financial Impact of Systemic Inequality and Intersectionality by the National Disability Institute. The paper showcases empirical data on Americans who identify as BIPOC and/or disabled. They conclude that Americans who are at the intersection of race/ethnicity and disability are the most financially vulnerable, needing comprehensive and targeted outreach efforts.

Gillborn defines intersectionality as "[...] a concept that enables us to recognize the fact that perceived group membership can make people vulnerable to various forms of bias, yet because we are simultaneously members of many groups, our complex identities can shape the specific way we each experience that bias.

For example, men and women can often experience racism differently, just as women of different races can experience sexism differently, and so on." (Gillborn, 2015)

I found both papers through Google Scholar with the keywords 'intersectionality', 'race', and 'disability'.

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Khalil Divine Black Sun Allah was executed by the state of South Carolina. This was days after a key witness in the case testified that Allah was an innocent man.

"His lawyers had filed emergency motions for a delay this week, citing new testimony suggesting he had been wrongfully convicted. But the state supreme court rejected the pleas and Henry McMaster, the Republican governor, announced just before the execution that he would not be granting clemency." (Levin, 2024)

Race-conflict theory in discussions of race and ethnicity is extremely important as prejudice and marginalisation still occur to this day. Allah's case highlights that societal structures only push tension between racial groups. Although it was not sure whether or not Allah was fully innocent, this was ultimately a miscarriage of justice.

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South Carolina executes first man in 13 years despite new evidence of innocence

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Khalil Divine Black Sun Allah, 46, killed by lethal injection days after state’s key witness recanted critical testimony

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This progress activity examines what events led to the formation of the generation's characteristics. Our environment and the people around us tend to influence our behaviour and personality.

Experiencing key events like both world wars and the great depression has led the Greatest Generation to be described as resilient, frugal, and traditional.

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This progress activity is rooted in the SI Theory.

Symbolic Interactionism sees society as the output of symbols, specifically language. Stating that people process and understand their social worlds through communication and interaction - the exchange of symbols and ideas -, therefore society is constructed through human interaction and socialisation.

Progress activity #4 highlights the differences between different cultures (in this case: generation cohorts). The SI perspective pays attention to each person's own perspective in life through their everyday behaviours and experiences.

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I first read Cultural Evolution: Measuring Differences in Generational Values by Erin Heys. This paper examines different generations and how millennials and Gen Z are less individualistic than previous generations.

Then I read The Changing Generational Values published by John Hopkins University. This article explains and elaborates on cultural differences between the different generations.

Both articles explain that socialisation and our environment are extremely important to our development, ultimately influencing our personality and behaviour.