CRIMINOLOGY

SOC 446

Concepts of childhood and delinquency. Measurement of delinquent behavior. Application of competing theories to relationships within the family, school, and peer group. Evaluation of programs for treatment, prevention, and control. The rise of the juvenile system.

LEGALST/SOC 131

Day-to-day functioning of the elements of the criminal justice system in the U.S. Nature of crime in the U.S., ideas about causes and solutions. Emphasis on the sociology of the components of criminal justice system--organization and roles of police, lawyers, court and correctional personnel.

GEN&WS/LEGALST/SOC 425

Focuses on the intersection between gender, crime and justice from a cross-cultural perspective. The gendered nature of the criminal justice system, female experiences of crime, prosecution and incarceration as well as the extent to which women are victims, offenders, and participants in the criminal justice system will be explored. Special emphasis will be placed on the theoretical implications of offending behavior and the intersection of gender with sexuality, race, ethnicity and class. The goal of this course is to provide a foundation for critically assessing the often controversial issues surrounding race, gender, crime, and criminal justice in society.

PSYCH 401

Focuses on the role that psychological principles, research evidence and social science play in the laws of U.S. society, especially in the policies and mechanisms of social control of human behavior. Topics include: the ways society defines membership; the role of psychology determining who should be excluded or restricted from open society; how selected processes work in the legal and social context; students' own roles as citizens in supporting or changing these social processes; clinical-legal processes used to determine the disposition of individuals considered marginal in society; mechanisms used to exclude individuals from open society through criminal and civil court processes; the role of psychology as a science; and the role of psychologists as behavioral experts in criminal and civil courts, and in shaping social policies.

PSYCH 526

Criminal behavior is an extremely common and costly problem for society. Provides an overview of criminal psychology and the relevant forensic and psychobiological processes in the field.