Term Papers on Culture, Crime, And Deviance

Term Paper Title	Culture, Crime, And Deviance
# of Words	987
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	3.95

Culture, Crime, and Deviance

CCJ3014 TR 3:00-4:15

A society and it’s people are thought to be defined by their culture.  Often times we will recognize a location’s culture, as expressed through the peoples who interact within the same general public, and then consequently we associate a geographic region with the culture we see conveyed.  This can mean that a certain culture is more easily recognizable than the country or area that it resides in.  But what exactly is culture?  Culture can briefly be defined as the system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that the members of society use to cope with their world and with one another, and that are transmitted from generation to generation through learning (Schwimmer[1]).  This definition covers a broad subject, not only does it include all beliefs and institutions of a society, it also involves the past, present, and future of a civilization by stating that culture is passed through all generations.  However, since this is a paper and not a textbook, I will only discuss the relationship between culture, and a personal viewpoint, on criminal and deviant activities.

Being an active member of the American culture, I feel that a large number of sources and institutions have had a role in shaping my ideas about crime and deviance.  Parents and family, school and education, religion, friends, television, and the rest of the mass media (including newspapers, movies, magazines, books, video games, etc.) all impact a person’s beliefs on the crime and punishment system our governing body has laid out.  The most prevalent factor I believe is a person’s parents.  The very first lesson a person receives in deviant behavior comes at a very young age.  They perform an action that their mother disapproves of (breaking a vase, spilling some milk, or destroying a toy), and they are subsequently scolded and punished in some manner.  They may be yelled at, spanked, or even worse, sent to “time-out” in the corner of a room.  Such an incident marks the first time someone learns about crime and punishment.  They did something that society in general does not agree with as a sensible activity, and so they are subject to personal misery/pain at the hands of a figure that is in control of your well-being.  As you grow older and into an adult, you absorb information along the way as to what is not acceptable behavior, and how harshly an individual will be punished for partaking in such behavior.

However, not everyone grows up with the exact same views on what constitutes a criminal activity.  There are subtle differences that vary from person to person.  There are practices that are inherently wrong to a culture (i.e. murder, rape), while there are also activities that are less severe and some people feel are wrong and some feel are acceptable (i.e. littering, loitering, graffiti, and pub...

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