Criminal Justice Seminar

3 units

This seminar provides an overview of prominent debates within the field of criminal justice. The course begins with a series of studies regarding the criminal legal framework that gave rise to mass imprisonment in the United States. It then shifts to contemporary U.S. crime policy, tying high rates of imprisonment to two primary and interrelated social problems: social inequality and interpersonal violence. Weekly class sessions will consist of student presentations and in-depth discussion of the assigned reading materials. Grades will be based on in-class participation, a series of short response papers, and a final paper.