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NOTE: class contract is available on Sakai
Sociology 313: Sociology of Crime and Delinquency
Fall 2009
Jon'a Meyer, Ph.D. office:
ATG 342/SOC 207, 225-6207
Office Hours: M
4:20-5:50, W 1:30-2:40 & 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 explain 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. The readings are not easy; surface-reading and skimming them will not allow you to demostrate your mastery of the class material and may result in deliterious effects on your final grade. The Rutgers catalog recommends that students plan to spend a minimum of two hours of out-of-class coursework for each hour of in-class work, so you should expect to spend six hours a week out of class doing work for this class. If you are not prepared to do this, I recommend that you consider taking the course during another semester so that you can succeed..
Required text: Crutchfield, Kubrin, Bridges & Weis. (2007). Crime: Readings (3rd ed.) Sage Publications.[ISBN: 141294967X]
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 deadline below.
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 Mondays, I will 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 read out of the book will net only minimal credit because it shows scouting but not synethesis). All of the book-related questions on the exams will spring from the reading questions, so doing them every week will be worth your while as will attendance on the days we cover them.
Exams: There will be two exams. 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. Potential question will include multiple choice, fill-in, short answer and essay questions.
Paper: Your task
is to do a case study in criminology, applying the theories we discuss in class
to explain events and people’s actions in a theatrical production.
You will watch the production, then determine which theories are most appropriate
to explain what happened in the production (one theory per event/action). You
should describe each theory and how it explains what you are discussing. Demonstrate
your knowledge of each theory to the best of your ability. For example, if
a theory argues that factors A & B
should be present, and that factor C should not, make sure you discuss all
three to show your mastery of the theory. Do not try to explain happenings
for which you do not have enough details to properly apply a theory (e.g.,
the actions of a tangential character who appears only briefly). The paper
should be 5-7 double-spaced pages in 12-point font so you will have to be judicious
in which actions you attempt to explain. You
should spend only minimal time summarizing the events/actions in the production
because I will have watched it as well and prefer that you devote your paper
space to discussion and application of criminological theories. The paper will
be graded on accuracy, but flow, style, readability, and grammar/spelling will
count for one full grade so please proofread your masterpiece before submitting
it. The paper will be submitted via Sakai and should include all the appropriate
citations in APA format in addition to a bibliography. It goes without saying
that it should also be written in accordance with the material covered in the
citation certification test discussed below.
Limerick/Poem: I
have had students write limericks in my theory classes for many 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 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 a grade on your paper. 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 actually
read the accompanying material will save you a lot of time spent guessing on
the items.
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.
50 pts: exams (25 points each)
25 pts: paper
23 pts: participation/reading questions(heavily weighted for reading questions)
1 pt: limerick
1 pt: 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 with an asterisk). 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
Week 1 I: The history
and definitions of crime and criminology
9/9/09:
read/sign class contract; also update contact information at: https://www.acs.rutgers.edu/studentdir
Week 2 II: Images
of crime, criminality and criminal justice
Week 3 IV: Observation
and measurement of crime
Week 4 V: Distribution and correlates of crime
Week 5 VI: Foundational theories from the 1930's (social disorganization,
differential association)
10/5/09:
deadline for passing citation protocol
Week 6 VI continued
(anomie), VII: Foundational theories of the 50's-70's (subculture of violence)
Week 7 Midterm (10/19/09)
Week 8 VII continued (control, labeling, conflict theory)
Week 9 VIII: Contemporary theories and research- Part 1 (low self-control
& life course criminology)
Week 10 VIII continued (routine activity, strain)
Week 11 IX: Contemporary
theories and research- Part 2 (cultural, critical)
Week 12 IX continued (biological, psychological)
11/23/09: paper due
Week 13 tying it all together
Week 14 catchup & review
Final:
12/23/09, 9am-12pm (click here for
all your final exams)
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:
September 2, 2009
[Syllabus updated on 9-2-09 to reflect correct final exam time- date unchanged]