Criminology

Catalog description

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Develops analytical and professional skills to understand and assess crime within society; emphasizes the importance of defining crime, differentiating between law-making and law-breaking and examining the social patterns and distributions of crime, victimization and punishment in society and over time; the curriculum is structured into three core areas: understanding different types of crime and victimization, exploring established sociological theories on criminal behavior and developing the ability to analyze the justice system responses to crime; examines peer-reviewed research on topics including mass incarceration and policing practices; provides the tools to apply criminological research to real-world situations, allowing for an evidence-based analysis of criminal behavior and its effects on society. In line with the American Sociological Association, sociology is the study of social life, social change and the social causes and consequences of human behavior. Sociologists investigate the structure of groups, organizations and societies and how people interact within these contexts. Since all human behavior is social, the subject matter of sociology ranges from the intimate family to global communities; from deviance to organized crime; from religious traditions to state institutions; and from the divisions of race, gender and social class to the shared beliefs of a common culture. The specific topics and readings assigned may vary depending on the instructor’s areas of focus and research expertise. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification.