1. GC @ RFD A2 Crime and Deviance Theory
Crime - Under Scrutiny
Different sociological perspectives explain crime differently. They share certain ‘ concepts’ (e.g.
how status frustration can cause deviance) but they explain things slightly differently. In terms
of social class, many people see crime as a working class issue and caused by something within
‘the culture of ‘those people’ – this distorts our perceptions and lead us to underestimate crimes
by middle-class and wealthy people.
Good sociologists should be able to stand back and explore the many sides to the issues and the
various contributions to our understanding of deviance. Most sociologists in fact agree on a great
deal, but at the end of the day they may have a core idea and perspective that they feel is the
strongest explanation for things.
In this activity, you will mainly focus on the Marxist viewpoint, but you will compare it to other
arguments to show similarities and differences. Remember to use the different branches of
Marxism.
THE ACTIVITY
You are a team of investigative reporters working for a Marxist magazine called Power to the
People (feel free to change this title if you can think of a better one).
The editorial team thought it would be a good idea this week to show the valuable insights of
Marxists arguments on crime compared with others that exist, to show how Marxists are more
open-minded and can offer a much fuller, structural explanation of crime in capitalist society.
So this is a special CRIME edition. You should;
Compare to Functionalist - subcultural theories, labelling theories (you might have to apply last
year’s education theory here.)
Your magazine should include:
Interviews
Adverts / accommodation for rent etc
Articles
Lonely hearts – just a thought!
Advice -
Consider the following:
1 A sound review of the argument you are comparing yourself to
2 Consider how Marxists are similar to and different from those ideas.
3 Use key studies – but present in a news style e.g. ‘In a recent TV debate Lauren
Snider highlighted ………’
4 Think about the concepts you need to use.
5 Examples of laws/crimes which illustrate your case.
6 Use current issues where possible – e.g. summer riots
7 If possible use Desktop publisher in a newspaper format.
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2. GC @ RFD A2 Crime and Deviance Theory
Task Tracking Sheet
By the end of lesson 1 we have decided
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We need to do the following by the start of lesson 2
At the beginning of lesson 2 we are going to
By the end of lesson 2 we have accomplished;
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3. GC @ RFD A2 Crime and Deviance Theory
Lesson 3 - We need to do the following to complete our task
NOTES – problems etc
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4. GC @ RFD A2 Crime and Deviance Theory
Evaluation
How pleased are you with your newspaper?
Which piece do think is the best and why?
Do you think you have contributed equally to the task?
Do you think you have worked well as a group?
Do you feel more confident in your knowledge of Marxism?
Do you feel you were able to apply that knowledge to the task successfully?
Which Assessment Objective skills do you think you have practiced?
Knowledge
Understanding
Analysis
Application
Evaluation
Be prepared to explain with evidence how / where you have done this.
How do you think this task could have been done better – what could improve your
newspaper?
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