Final answer:
The Functionalist Perspective on Deviance, particularly Durkheim's view, suggests that deviance serves to challenge and change social norms or reinforce them through punishment, as exemplified by civil rights sit-ins or the enforcement of school rules.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to Functionalist Perspectives on Deviance, as proposed by Émile Durkheim, deviance plays an essential role in a successful society. A scenario that illustrates a function of deviance is one where an act challenges existing social norms and promotes social change. For instance, when participants of the civil rights movement engaged in sit-ins, they were deviating from the social norms of the time to campaign against segregation. This act of deviance played a functional role by promoting awareness and change in societal views on racial equality.
Durkheim also emphasized that the punishment of deviant behavior reaffirms societal norms and the collective consciousness, as seen when the enforcement of school rules against skipping class with detention reinforces the importance of attendance to other students. Both scenarios are functional as they either promote change or reaffirm the existing social order.