Sociology - Crime and Society

Catalog description

This course examines crime in societies and the theoretical explanations for existing crime trends. The scholarly field of criminology is an interdisciplinary social science that is grounded in sociology. As such, this course considers crime and conflict through a sociological lens and, in doing so, often focuses on public perceptions, media portrayals, and the social construction of crime. We will examine types of crime defined as illegal, as well as types which are deviant but not illegal, and adopt a research emphasis. Therefore, students will learn the basic skills necessary for social scientific thinking that can translate easily to other social science courses and will be introduced to topics that are critical to the development of a comprehensive understanding of research on crime. The course is divided into two parts: 1) the measurement of crime and victimization, patterns of crime, and theoretical explanations of crime; and 2) select topics in criminology (e.g., mental illness and crime, gender and crime).