Race, Crime and Justice

Catalog description

This course will explore how race and ethnicity interacts with criminal behavior and the criminal justice system. It will take a social construction perspective to understanding racial and ethnic identities and the definition of crime. The course will examine racial and ethnic disparities in crime, violence and criminal processing using sociological theories and empirical research. It will give special consideration to the intersections of gender, social class and sexual orientation in understanding racial and ethnic minorities? experiences within the criminal justice system. The goal of this course is to think critically about the controversies surrounding race, ethnicity, crime, and criminal justice in American society and to analytically evaluate public policy solutions. Prerequisite: Any 100-level Sociology course.