Race, Gender and Justice

Catalog description

This course critically examines major theories, research findings, policies, and controversies concerning race, gender, and crime in the context of social justice. In terms of disciplinary affirmation, the focus is on criminology theory, but with a predisposition towards ways in which questions of social justice can be viewed from a sociological perspective. The first objective of the course is to debunk the myth that there is a cast iron boundary between questions of criminal justices and social justice. Along with this objective is the need to provide students who are interested in pursuing a criminal justice career an awareness of key discourses in criminology in conjunction with a keen sense of empathy required for the maintenance of social order in an increasingly diversified universe. The second objective of the course is to explore how theoretical insights can provide the tools for making sense of the vast amount of data and information on crime and the criminal justice system especially as it relates to debates and contestation on questions of race, ethnicity, and gender. Students will get the opportunity to explore the main sources used for research. This will enable us to achieve our third objective; in what ways can our findings inform social policy in the desire to provide equal justice for all. We shall conclude our exploration by returning to our starting place: Can race, ethnicity, and gender be useful analytic categories?