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CS92PROD
Sociology of Crime and Punishment
SOC 231
Fall 2017 not offered

This course provides an introduction to the sociological study of crime and punishment. Crime is rarely far from news headlines or the public imagination. Every day, reports of drug dealing, muggings, and homicide fuel anxiety and debate about the problems of law and order. Here, we consider such debates in the context of both a vision for a just society and the everyday workings of the criminal justice system. The course is divided into three sections. We begin with an introduction to the historical meanings and measures of crime in society and then situate the modern U.S. within this history. In part two, we become familiar with the major ways that social scientists think about criminality and crime prevention. In part three, we turn to considerations of punishment. We ask how punishment is conceptualized in the U.S. and other nations, whether the American system of mass imprisonment is effective, and how we might envision improvements and alternatives.
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS SOC
Course Format: LectureGrading Mode: Graded
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: SOC151
Fulfills a Major Requirement for: (SOC)(STS)

Last Updated on MAR-28-2024
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