The social construction and interpretation of deviance
Jonestown and the mass media
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2152004 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Danny L Jorgensen (University of South Florida, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1980 |
| Volume | 1 |
| Issue | 3-4 |
| Pages | 309-332 |
| Publication date | 1980-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Deviant Behavior (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0163-9625 • E-ISSN: 1521-0456 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/01639625.1980.9967531 |
| OpenAlex | W2121183686 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 32 |
This paper reports on an investigation and analysis of social reactions to the events of November 1978 in Jonestown, Guyana. Critical attention is focused on the manner in which an official reality of these events was fashioned and presented by the mass media. Findings support the contention that the resulting interpretation was highly selective and stylized. Reasons for the symbolic construction of this reality of Jonestown are explored and related to the role played by experts and public officials. These findings are interpreted by way of the sociopolitical process whereby events are labeled and explained as social problems or deviance
Criminology · Deviance (statistics · Interpretation (philosophy · Mass media · Political science · Social media · Social reality · Social science · Sociology · Stylized fact · Caribbean history, culture, and politics · Computer Science · Crime, Deviance, and Social Control · Law · Media Studies and Communication · Psychology · Social Psychology
Social problems as social movements
Accidental News
Symbolic Interactionism
On Being Sane in Insane Places
Studies in ethnomethodology
The social construction of reality
Religious Movements in Contemporary America
The New Criminology
The Social Organization of Juvenile Justice
The Social Organization of Juvenile Justice
Bureaucratic Propaganda
Notes on the Sociology of Deviance
The Social Construction of Strain and Ideological Models of Grievance in Contemporary Movements
Constructing Social Problems
The social meanings of suicide
Amphetamine politics on Capitol Hill
The Public Perception of Protest
News as Purposive Behavior
Dilemmas of Charismatic Leadership
Seekers and Saucers
American Social Order
The Politics of Analyzing Social Problems
Social Problems as Collective Behavior
Societal Reaction to Deviant Behavior
Accidental News
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |