Spring 2022  |  SOC 4102 Section 001: Criminology (55952)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Meets With:
SOC 4102H Section 001
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/18/2022 - 05/02/2022
Thu 05:30PM - 08:00PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hanson Hall 1-106
Enrollment Status:
Open (29 of 48 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
This class seeks to develop an understanding of patterns of crime and punishment in the United States (including American particularities in international comparison), their social, political, economic, cultural, and institutional conditions, and how these patterns relate to broader sociological themes. We will examine a cross-section of most outstanding recent and some (by now) classical criminological and sociological books and a few articles that have attracted much attention among scholars and/or the broader public. prereq: [SOC 3101 or SOC 3102 or instr consent], Sociology majors/minors must register A-F
Class Notes:
Click this link for more detailed course information: http://classinfo.umn.edu/?savel001+SOC4102+Spring2022
Class Description:
This course examines core themes in criminological research, especially innovative ways of thinking about crime and punishment. A cross-section of important criminology books and articles will be discussed that have attracted much attention among scholars and/or the broader public. Examples for crime theories discussed are Messner and Rosenfeld's "Crime and the American Dream," Sampson and Wilson's focus on inner city poverty and dislocation as a central root of crime, Hagan/McCarthy's "Mean Streets" with its focus on homeless youth and crime, Newman's "Rampage," a study on school shootings, and Anderson's "Code of the Street." The punishment side covers sections from books by Beckett on the role of media and politics in creating moral panics, Garland with his focus on punitive responses in times of uncertainty, and texts on international differences in punishment. A new section provides a brief introduction into a much neglected theme: criminal violations of human rights and humanitarian law such as war crimes and genocide as well as other crimes of the powerful and control responses to these types of offenses. Students read chapters from books and articles while lecture provides background information. Lecture is accompanied by discussion and small group work.
Who Should Take This Class?:
This class is of special interest to honors students concerned with issues of crime and punishment. This applies especially to sociology LCJ majors, but also to other sociology students and students beyond sociology. Examining issues of crime and punishment teaches us much broader lessons about American society, its social structure, patterns of inequality, the functioning of its government, law and the enforcement of law (and how the US compares to other countries).
Learning Objectives:
Understanding patterns of crime in the context of a country's structural and cultural contexts (specifically but not exclusively for the US). Understanding the construction of crime and responses to crime, especially criminal punishment, in the context of institutions of government, law and law enforcement.
Grading:
60% six quizzes; 30% final exam; 10% class participation plus a paper of about 12-15 pages is expected (possibly the review of a book on which students agree with the instructor at the beginning of the semester; alternative paper types can be considered).
Exam Format:
essay, multiple choice, short answer
Class Format:
50% Lecture
15% Film/Video
20% Discussion
15% Small Group Activities small group work
Workload:
60 pages reading per week
6 quizzes, one final exam and one paper
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/55952/1223
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
28 September 2021

ClassInfo Links - Spring 2022 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=4102&term=1223
To see a URL-only list for use in the Faculty Center URL fields, use:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?subject=SOC&catalog_nbr=4102&term=1223&url=1
To see this page output as XML, use:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?subject=SOC&catalog_nbr=4102&term=1223&xml=1
To see this page output as JSON, use:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?subject=SOC&catalog_nbr=4102&term=1223&json=1
To see this page output as CSV, use:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?subject=SOC&catalog_nbr=4102&term=1223&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