From the Paper
"Art is not, as we have so often been told, in the eye of the beholder. Or rather it may be in the eyes of certain beholders acting in concert with each other. The premise of Howard Becker=s Art Worlds is simply this -- that art, like all other human activities, involves the joint activity of a number of people (Becker, 1982, p. 1). That humans work together to create a whole greater than each could produce individually should not come as a terribly remarkable surprise. The fact that we can accomplish more in groups than as isolated individuals is one of the most important (if not the most important) reason that humans gather together in societies to begin with. None of us would be surprised to learn that farming or textile production or the rail system is the result of a number of people working together, each providing a piece of the required labor and enabled to work joint..."

Abstract
This paper describes the works and ideas of Howard Becker in the area of criminology and his study of deviance from a social perspective. The paper provides an in-depth study of his works and puts forward arguments for and against his theories.

From the Paper
"Howard Becker is widely associated with the labelling theory, although as Becker himself asserts the very concept is "neither a theory, with all the achievements and obligations that go with the title, nor focused so exclusively on the act of labelling as some have thought." It does not embody a single concept, but rather a number of assorted ideas brought together under one approach; an approach that Becker prefers to term the 'interactionist theory of deviance' . This amalgamation of ideas has led critics to argue the theory is both "ambiguous and inconsistent", and at best, "a vague perspective" . However, the original theorists, especially Becker, never sought to provide an all-embracing, etiological explanation of deviance; as Becker suggests, "they had more modest aims". Whatever the description or the initial criticisms applied, it is Becker's work on this area of criminology that is considered his greatest contribution to the subject, and thus will be the focus of this critical biography.
Becker's volume Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance, remains the seminal text on the interactionist approach to deviance. Influenced by Cooley's 'looking-glass self' , Lemert's ideas of social constructionism , and Mead's theories on the internalisation of the self , Becker develops the study of deviance from a distinctly social perspective, considering the processes by which particular types of act or people, come to be labelled as deviant. In particular Becker argues: (1) deviant behaviour must be conceptualized in terms of a sequential model, since different causes operate at different stages, and (2) the rules and enforcement process must be viewed as developing through time rather than as an isolated moment of disapproval."

Tags:crime, society, theory

Abstract
This paper examines how Carl L. Becker was one of the most eminent American historians of the early 20th century. It looks at how his long and distinguished career and his impressive list of scholarly monographs alone qualify him as an important figure in the development of historical understanding and how his contributions to historical methodology were equally weighty. It shows how Becker was a progressive historian and how his historical analysis tended to focus on how historical process lead to later development and how these later developments could indeed be seen in the earlier historical precedents. He saw history as defined solely by the store of knowledge that we have about a historical event.

From the Paper
"Becker's work was typically presented in book format, and, while in his early work, especially, he presented his work in ways that were meant to be scholarly and academic, his work was to have a much broader popular appeal as well. As a progressive historian, much of Becker's concern was in reevaluating history and in occasionally examining social movements that were not culturally dominant in considering how they also affected history. As a result of his interest in action and untold narrative, Becker has a tendency to bias these elements in his later work. Often, he focuses on how events have continued to be significant today, rather than focusing on their unique historical importance of the time. Similarly, he is often willing to privilege the untold history of a movement that had not received what he considered to be a significant enough amount of historical attention over received historical narratives that were commonly accepted."

Tags:history, scholar, academic, america

Abstract
This paper describes Becker's novel "Jakob the Liar": Jakob, a Polish Jew in the Ghetto, finds himself a neighborhood hero by fabricating reports from his imaginary radio. The paper illustrate that the radio may not be real, but the impact Jakob's radio reports have on the community is real: The inhabitants of this ghetto community now have a sense of hope as they are told of "reports" that the armies are coming to save them. The paper author feels that Becker's use of the imaginary radio brings the reader into the reality of living in Jakob's ghetto.

From the Paper
"In the case of Jakob and Lina, the radio brings these two people closer together. When Jakob "plays" the radio for Lina, it is a moment that draws them closer and one of sincere comedy. These were bleak times, and the radio essentially brings hope and happiness to a neighborhood that faces the inevitable. These moments happen often within the first half of the novel, as the radio reports are a ray of light. "

Tags:polish, jew, ghetto, hero, imaginary, community, hope, police, wwii, reality

Abstract
The paper explains that Victor, from Geoffrey Becker's "El Diablo de la Cienega," who is a young star basketball player, and Elizabeth, from Ann Packer's "Horse," who is an introverted, bookish young woman excelling in reading, are both individualists who, in different ways, excel in solitary pursuits. The author of the paper points out that the authors of both stories balance the inner and outer life of the protagonists in different ways, depending on the protagonist's gender and maturity; but ultimately, both of these solitary people must come to grips with both their larger world and their developing senses of self. The paper states that Victor and Elizabeth both are driven to close, yet highly conflicted relationships with their surviving mothers because of their status as children in single-parent families.

From the Paper
"Elizabeth's perceived gifts in reading, furthermore, are not admired as unequivocally as are Victor's have upon her psyche. Victor sees himself confidently as a gifted athlete, while Elizabeth sees her body as inadequate to the demands of the game she has chosen to prove herself at. Thus the game functions differently in the narrator's perceptions, the structure of the tale's evolution in a linear or a more discursive fashion, and also in terms of whether the character sees the structure of the game as frustrating, as in the case of Elizabeth, or holding the potential for salvation or damnation, as does Victor. The competitive crux of the game-narrative in "Horse" also takes place off-stage, because it is less central to the character's positive development, as opposed to the more physical Victor and the more physical life of the young male protagonist, in "El Diablo de la Cienega" where the game is the story, in essence."

Tags:protagonists, reader, basketball, gender, mother

Abstract
This paper looks at the life of Belgium serial killer Marie Alexandrine Becker and how she murdered those who were close to her to gain riches and to take herself out of the low life that she had been born to.

Abstract
This paper describes Ebenezer Howard's role in the advancement of urban planning. The author points out that Howard understood the necessity of asserting control over urban development. The paper further describes Howard's belief that controlling urban development improves city life, enhances productivity, increases efficiency and reduces the socioeconomic and political problems that uncontrolled urbanization produced. The paper relates that Howard believed that the negative aspects of urbanization could be minimized and eventually eliminated through logical urban planning to which he devoted his life.

From the Paper
"In analyzing the advancement of urban planning, it is evident that innovative urban thinkers, like Ebenezer Howard, understood the vital importance of promoting and achieving effective urban development. Throughout the centuries, most cities expanded outward from their central core in a haphazard fashion in response to a variety of short-term economic, social and geographical factors. As this random process unfolded, cities became sprawling urban areas in which the quality of human life steadily declined, economic productivity suffered, and social and political tensions became chronic problems. "

Tags:urban, planning, founder

Abstract
The author states that "Howard's End" is an Edwardian novel written before the Great War. He continues that the plot is complex but is held together by the country house called Howard's End, a metaphor for England itself. The paper discusses that the characters respected the land but not each other. The paper continues to discuss the concept of wealth and compares this book compared to the writings of the American F. Scott Fitzgerald.

From the Paper
"But it also stands for something larger than simply England, for it represents the ways in which people can be tied to a particular piece of the earth from one generation to the next. The first World War brought to an end many things, and this may have been one of the most significant things that was lost, this sense that our relationship to the land is one of the things that can be counted on to endure from generation to generation. Already we see that sense of connection being loosened in this book, but it still endures."

Tags:plot, class, system, characters, country, house, england, edwardian, generation, society, relationship, wealth, identity, gatsby, fitzgerald, symbolism

Abstract
The paper refers to the beliefs of Emille Durkheim, Howard Becker and C. Wright Mills on criminality and applies the term 'sociological imagination' to the phenomenon of youth crime in contemporary Scotland. The paper considers the class inequalities, poverty and the role of the media in creating an increasing and widespread fear of youth crime in Scotland.

From the Paper
"Being able to think sociologically is an essential concept in enabling us to make fair and accurate judgements about people and society. In his 1959 book, The Sociological Imagination, C. Wright Mills gives an outline of what he thinks are the essential components of sociological thinking. This "sociological imagination" can be applied to explanations of many social problems and allows us to delve beneath the surface, and to take a closer look at why individuals, or certain groups in society, behave in a specific way or find themselves in certain circumstances. Sociologists have long used this concept to put forward their views on particular sociological issues; this essay will look at some examples of this."

Tags:class, inequalities, poverty, media, criminology

Abstract
In this article, the writer discusses the criminological concept of labeling theory and looks at its strengths and weaknesses.

From the Paper
"Labeling theory is named because of its focus on the informal and formal application of stigmatizing deviant 'labels' or tags by society on some of its members. Developed in large measure by Howard S Becker labeling theory is based on the assumption that deviance is not the quality of the act that a person commits but rather a consequence of the application by others of rules and sanctions to an 'offender'. The deviant is one to whom ..."

Tags:labeling theory, Howard Becker