Joyce Stephens W377 Thompson Hall Office Phone: (716) 673-4611 E-mail: stephens@fredonia.edu

"I became a convert to the field of sociology after reading C.W. Mills' description of the sociological Imagination. His analysis of the essentially social character of human experience and behavior provided a framework that I adopted in my professional and personal life. In my courses and in my research, I have been interested in applying this framework to the study of deviant and stigmatized individuals and groups. Especially intriguing to me are the varieties of different social meanings that deviants construct to "explain" and normalize their problematic acts and lifestyles.