Crime and Punishment

Undergraduate

This seminar looks at how different cultures in different historical ages defined crime and treated people considered to be criminals. In particular, we focus on criminal trial as a political institution, social practice, and cultural representation. In modern Eurocentric culture, the “golden age” of the public trial began roughly in the 1860s and 1870s, coinciding with lively debates about the science and the politics of crime. It is therefore fitting that Dostoevsky’s famous novel, Crime and Punishment (1866), is at the center of our work. The necessary historical context is provided by book chapters and articles as well as selections from classic primary sources ranging from King Hammurabi’s laws to the more recent writings of Beccaria, Lombroso, and Foucault. While our discussions mainly concern crime in “modern” or “western” cultures and societies, we also look at competing practices, some of which thrived in the past, and others still exist today and are branded as either “informal” or “non-western.” In addition to weekly discussions, one of our meetings are dedicated to the mock trial of Dostoevsky’s Raskolnikov, giving the “jurors” an opportunity to decide on his guilt, the “lawyers” a chance to argue his case, and the “judge”- to decide on his sentence if he is convicted. While the course is designed to discuss issues of concern to any educated citizen, it also aims to develop research and writing skills. WR T 1:30pm-3:25pm