Short Post on Deviance

Kai Erikson suggests that “deviant forms of behavior are a natural and even beneficial part of social life”, and that “forces operate in social structure to recruit offenders and to commit them to long periods of service in the deviant ranks”? Explain his argument.

Compare and contrast Goffman’s and Erikson’s theories of deviance. Which do you find more helpful to understanding deviance in late medieval and early modern Europe?

Kai Erikson's definition of deviance is that it “refers to conduct which the people of a group consider so dangerous or embarrassing or irritating that they bring special sanctions to bear against the persons exhibit it.”(6) The community works together to declare the no normal members of society. There is some benefit to society in labeling deviant groups it brings greater social cohesion. People in societies interact with each other and it is their behavior that marks the boundaries of deviance. A deviant is someone whose behavior is outside of the set norm for the given society. Both Erikson and Goffman agree that deviance is relative. As society changes, its behavior changes, and thus the boundaries of deviance change. So what might have been considered deviant in Medieval Europe is no longer considered deviant in modern day Europe. The boundaries are always changing and shifting and people constantly find news ways to define them. In this way culture is formed. Combining Goffman and Erikson and their views on deviance it becomes easier to understand how society works, and how stigmas are born.

Kai Erikson "On the Sociology of Deviance" 

Erving Goffman Stigma