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Sociology 313: Sociology of Crime and Delinquency
Fall 2008 (draft)
Jon'a Meyer, Ph.D.
405 Cooper, Rm. 207, 225-6207
Office Hours: Th 1:30-3:00, T 5-6 & by
appointment
In this course, we will explore criminology (the science of explaining crime), definitions and measurement of crime, important factors in crime, and of course, the major theories of crime. By the end of this course, you will have a working knowledge of criminological theory and be able to apply it to acts labeled as deviant. This is a required course for Criminal Justice majors and may be used as an elective for Sociology majors. It is a labor intensive course and is not recommended for freshmen or sophmores.
Text: Required: Crutchfield, Bridges & Weis. (2007). Crime: Readings (3rd ed.) Sage Publications.
Recommended: Williams
& McShane. (1999). Criminological Theory (3rd ed.). Prentice Hall.
Sakai: We
will use Sakai for the course. The course page contains course assignments,
updates/study guides will be distributed there, and assignments will
be submitted via the Sakai interface. Students will be auto-enrolled via the
roster upload process (all registered students will be enrolled within one
business day of enrolling). If you do NOT see the course in your "Sakai Portal ," let
me know. To access the course, go to: https://sakai.rutgers.edu/portal/
Reading and "signing" the class contract: Your first assignment
is to read this syllabus and the class contract (available on Sakai)
then agree to its contents. This should be done by the beginning of the
first second week of class.
Participation & reading questions: Reading questions to help you prepare for the class discussions and exams are assigned for each chapter. Please complete the reading assignments before coming to class as we will discuss the material and/or take quizzes on it. Both tasks will be considered part of your grade and everyone is expected to participate. On Thursdays, I will give a short quiz about and/or call on students to share their answers to the week's reading questions. During the discussion, if you answer the question correctly or have a reasonable answer, you will receive credit; if you do not answer the question at all, you will lose credit (verbatim material out of the book will net only partial credit). All of the book-related questions on the exams will spring from the reading questions, so it is easy to see that doing them every week will be worth your while as will attendance on the days we cover them.
Exams: There will be two exams, each worth 20 points. Please arrange for makeup examinations prior to the date of the test. The examinations will cover lecture and discussion materials, reading assignments, any films, and any other class material. Half an hour after the start of each exam, I will post the answers. Students arriving after the posting of the answers will not be able to take the exam with the class and will be asked to take an essay makeup exam.
Data analysis assignments: Data analysis is a valuable skill that will increase your value on the job market. To facilitate your mastery of that not-so-magical art, I have designed some data analysis exercises for use with our book. Each has an essay component. Using different datasets, you will be able to explore some of the theories we will be learning. The setup is consistent for all the exercises: You will first complete some guided activities then answer questions about what you found during your analyses. The exercises add a "hands on" component to the study of theories of crime.
Course paper:
You will be provided with a fact pattern which will form the basis of
your examination and explanation of the criminal's (or criminals') actions.
The paper will be graded on accuracy, but flow, style, readability, and grammar/spelling
will count so please proofread your masterpiece before submitting it.
Limerick/Poem: I have had students write limericks in my theory
classes for several years now as a way to better internalize the material and
to help them and their classmates study for exams. We will start them in class,
but you will be able to finish your work at home. I will post the better ones
to my website, so make sure you include the name or nom de plume you
want me to use (or I will use your first and last name). To get more information
about this assignment, take a look at the limericks written by previous students
(and some internet surfers, too); they are here.
Citation Certification Test: Due to the the importance of academic integrity
and repeated student queries about how to properly cite sources, I and my
colleagues in CJ have created a citation tutorial and certification
test for all CJ majors and students who take our courses. To ensure maximal
exposure, the test was linked to my course. You will be required to pass it
in order to receive grades on any written assignments in this class. You will
be allowed to take the test multiple times if necessary to pass the test with
a 90%. If you passed it for another class, you do not need to retake it.
NOTE:: taking time to read the accompanying material will save you a lot of
time spent guessing on the items.
CPS "gizmo" remotes: As part of our course, we will be using
a CPS (E-Instruction's Classroom Performance System) to take in-class quizzes
and and do other activities. This is a program designed to allow students to
interact with course material during class through the use of hand-held personal
response systems. As part of this program, I will be distributing individually
numbered remote control devices. These devices cost $50 each, but our department
will loan you one without cost for the duration of the semester. NOTE: If you
lose or destroy the device, you will be expected to replace it, so please treat
them with respect. Your scores on the CPS activities will factor heavily into
your participation grades.
Grades: There
are a total of 100 points available in this class. Grades will be based on the
total points for the semester, using the standard 90% = A, 80% = B, etc. scale.
40 pts: exams
20 pts: paper
20 pts: participation (including CPS or in-class quizzes)
13 pts: data analysis
exercises (3 points for the first one & 10 for the second; essays
weighted heavily)
4 pts: in-class writing assignment
1 pts: limerick
2 pts: citation certification test
100 pts TOTAL
Extra Credit: Each week you may email me (at my email address listed at the top of this syllabus) two or more multiple choice questions for possible inclusion on the exam. The questions should be from the readings assigned for that week and must be emailed by Friday afternoon (make sure to mark the correct answers). They should be multiple choice and each week of questions is worth 1/2 point of extra credit. Every exam will include a few questions submitted by students, marked with an asterisk on the exam to denote their source.Other extra credit options may be announced during the semester.
Other: Students are responsible for knowing the regulations of the department, college, and university with regards to topics such as withdrawals, academic misconduct (those who engage in any form of academic dishonesty will fail this course), incomplete grades, and so on. This is discussed in more detail in the class contract on Sakai.
Reading Schedule (**OLD)
Week 1 I: The history
and definitions of crime and criminology
Week 2 II: Images of crime, criminality and criminal justice
9/14: read/sign class contract,
submit contact information& update
email addresss
Week 3 IV: Observation
and measurement of crime
9/20: deadline for passing
citation protocol
Week 4 V: Distribution and correlates of crime
9/27: deadline microtheme essay #1 (Deterrence)
Week 5 VI: Foundational theories from the 1930's (social disorganization,
differential association)
Week 6 VI continued (anomie), VII: Foundational theories
of the 50's-70's (subculture of violence)
10/11: deadline for first data analysis
exercise (An introduction to statistical analysis using SDA)
Week 7 Midterm (10/23/07)
Week 8 VII continued (control, labeling, conflict theory)
10/25: deadline microtheme essay #2 (Techniques of Neutralization)
Week 9 VIII: Contemporary theories and research- Part 1 (low self-control
& life course criminology)
11/1: deadline for second data analysis
exercise (#6, Social disorganization theory)
Week 10 VIII continued (routine activity, strain)
11/8: deadine microtheme essay #3
(Anomie & Anger)
Week 11 IX: Contemporary theories and research- Part 2 (cultural, critical)
11/15: deadine microtheme essay #4 (Parameters)
Week 12 IX continued (biological, psychological)
Week 13 tying it all together
11/30: deadline for third data analysis
exercise (#8, Routine activities theory)
Week 14 catchup & Multiple Choice part of the Final Exam (12/11/07,
during regularly scheduled class, 18 pts)
Week 15 during "final" period, Essay part of the Final Exam (Wednesday,
12/19/07, 2-5pm, 2 pts)
READING QUESTIONS for Week 1 (get the remaining weeks' questions off the class Sakai page). NOTE: Optional questions are marked with an asterisk
John Hagan: Defining Crime: An Issue
of Morality
1. How did Mills and Stephen differ in their assessments of the
purpose of punishment?
2. What two answers are given to the question regarding the origin
of law?
3. What do sociologists like Sumner, Sutherland, and Cressey believe
about the effectiveness of criminal law to regulate morality?
4. How can law "create" crime?
*. Did Schur feel that all victimless crimes should be abolished?
What about Morris and Hawkins?
5. What does all this mean? How does this reading tie into efforts
to explain crime?
C. Ronald Huff: Historical Explanations
of Crime: From Demons to Politics
1. Why were offenders often executed in "primitive" societies?
*. Through what mechanism were offenses of a private, rather than
public, nature dealt?
*. What system replaced the blood feud?
2. What was the final stage that accompanied the absolute authority
vested in kingships?
3. What are six tenets advocated by Beccaria?
*. What did Beccaria say about a scale of punishments?
*. According to Beccaria, what is more important than the severity
of punishment?
*. What did Bentham say about the degree of punishment?
4. What assumption underlies classical criminology?
*. What was a "problematic" shortcoming of classical criminology?
*. How did neoclassicists incorporate determinism into classical
criminology?
5. What did Lombroso postulate? What did he conclude from his research?
*. Did Lombroso feel biology was the "sole explanation for crime"?
*. What did Ferri do?
*. What did Garofalo recommend for criminals?
*. What did Harvard's Hooton conclude?
*. What did Hooton say with respect to "physical constitution"?
6. What did Freud say about crime?
*. What did Bonger argue?
*. What did the Chicago school believe?
7. What is the "essential contention" of culture conflict theory?
*. How does "the system" cause crime?
8. On what do "radical marxists" focus?
9. What does all this mean? How does this reading tie into efforts to
explain crime?
syllabus date:
February 3, 2008