Crime and Politics
Crime and Politics analyzes the criminal legal system from a political perspective, examining how governments respond to crime domestically and internationally through four thematic questions and subfields of political science.
Summary
What you’ll be able to do
Articulate how politicians use institutions and public policy to target specific demographic groups as social deviants.
Recognize and question the cultural assumptions as they relate to why crime emerges and who is most likely to be a social deviant.
Demonstrate self-awareness and empathy toward the policy experiences of others, especially racial and ethnic minorities.
Apply course concepts to their own political lives and circumstances outside the classroom.
Articulate how cultural assumptions and belief systems used to build past political institutions connect with current day institutions.
Source: UW Guide 1· UW Guide 2
Grade history
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Prerequisites
Course map(3 credits in POLI SCI, LEGAL ST, or SOC) and sophomore standing
- (3 credits in POLI SCI, LEGAL ST, or SOC)
- sophomore standing
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- (3 credits in POLI SCI, LEGAL ST, or SOC)
- sophomore standing
Professors
Spring 2027No instructors recorded for this selection.
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Calendar & sections
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Student experience
the class
Introduction to various concepts that analyze the criminal legal system from a political perspective. Examines how governments respond to the problem of crime from a domestic and international perspective. In addition to understanding different frameworks on how crime emerges, focuses on four thematic questions: Why do national governments treat public safety as a public good? Why do political actors target certain behaviors as criminal offenses? Why do political efforts to reduce crime often reflect social inequalities within society? Why do poorly designed criminal policies often result in political backlash? Examines crime from each subfield of political science - American, Comparative, International Relations, and Political Theory. Adopts a holistic approach towards understanding the criminal legal system from a political perspective. Consider and challenge all viewpoints on how the current system operates.
difficulty & workload
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Topics
- Government responses to crime from domestic and international perspectives
- Public safety as a public good
- Political targeting of behaviors as criminal offenses
- Social inequalities reflected in political efforts to reduce crime
- Political backlash resulting from poorly designed criminal policies
- Crime examined through American, Comparative, International Relations, and Political Theory subfields
Skills
- Analyze how politicians use institutions and public policy to target demographic groups as social deviants.
- Demonstrate self-awareness and empathy toward policy experiences of others, especially racial and ethnic minorities.
- Apply course concepts to personal political lives and circumstances outside the classroom.
- Connect cultural assumptions and belief systems from past political institutions to current day institutions.
Grades
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Explore recorded gradesRecorded 2026-10-14
Model outputs & technical records
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Model & dataset provenance
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