Poverty, Social Welfare, and Carceral Systems

3 credits · Undergraduate

This a survey course intended to introduce the theoretical underpinnings, structure, and major components of two major U.S. institutions: the criminal legal system and the U.S. welfare state. The course offers an overview of the relationship between contemporary social welfare policies affecting low-income families in the United States with attention to how the criminal legal system further marginalizes already vulnerable populations.