Spring 2014  |  SOC 4108 Section 001: Current Issues in Crime Control (66616)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/21/2014 - 05/09/2014
Mon 06:20PM - 08:50PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 150
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Selected current criminal justice policies from perspective of courts, legislature, community, and interest groups. Impact of criminal justice policy changes on society and on social control agencies.
Class Description:
The focus of this Current Issues course is Drugs & Society. We use key research, case studies, film, guest speakers, and popular media, to explore the social dimensions of American drug control, from the early-20th century crusades against opiates and marijuana to the modern meth epidemic. Why are some highs legal, while others are subject to intense surveillance and punishment? To begin to answer these questions, the first part of the course examines how various substances have been criminalized, medicalized, or deregulated at different historical moments. We'll learn about shifting strategies in the contemporary War on Drugs and their social effects, including education and prevention, criminalization, treatment, and efforts to decriminalize or legalize drug use. In the second half of the course, we focus on drug users, examining changing trends in drug (ab)use and competing theories of why people use drugs. We consider the complex relationships between drug use, addiction, crime, and the informal economy. Finally, we turn to the relationship between the War on Drugs and social inequality, asking how race, class, and gender have shaped and been shaped by the American drug war. This course will encourage you to think critically about the policing of bodies and behaviors through the study of drug control.
Grading:
20% Midterm Exam
20% Final Exam
40% Reports/Papers
10% Quizzes
10% Class Participation
Class Format:
30% Lecture
20% Film/Video
40% Discussion
10% Guest Speakers
Workload:
50 Pages Reading Per Week
2 Exam(s)
1 Paper(s)
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/66616/1143
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
6 May 2013

ClassInfo Links - Spring 2014 Sociology Classes

To link directly to this ClassInfo page from your website or to save it as a bookmark, use:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?subject=SOC&catalog_nbr=4108&term=1143
To see a URL-only list for use in the Faculty Center URL fields, use:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?subject=SOC&catalog_nbr=4108&term=1143&url=1
To see this page output as XML, use:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?subject=SOC&catalog_nbr=4108&term=1143&xml=1
To see this page output as JSON, use:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?subject=SOC&catalog_nbr=4108&term=1143&json=1
To see this page output as CSV, use:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?subject=SOC&catalog_nbr=4108&term=1143&csv=1
Schedule Viewer
8 am
9 am
10 am
11 am
12 pm
1 pm
2 pm
3 pm
4 pm
5 pm
6 pm
7 pm
8 pm
9 pm
10 pm
s
m
t
w
t
f
s
?
Class Title

ClassInfo created and maintained by the Humphrey School of Public Affairs.

If you have questions about specific courses, we strongly encourage you to contact the department where the course resides.