You will be held accountable for purposes of grading for the readings and exercises listed here. There will be no "testing." That means that you will not have to live in anxious anticipation of what we will ask and how much you will have to know. Instead, we will provide weekly discussion questions, lectures, essays, and concepts we feel that you should know as a result of having taken this course. You will assure us of that learning and receive your grade for the questions and concepts about which you choose to write and talk with us. In addition, you will find detailed explanations and examples on our grading policies in the first week's reading.

* * * * *

Week 14 Week of November 30, 2003

• Topic: The Future of Corrections

• Preparatory Readings and Other Materials:
  --- Haas and Alpert. Dilemmas of Corrections. no chapters assigned
  --- Sachar. Holes. no chapters assigned
  

• Lectures/Discussions: in class

• Concepts:

  • death penalty
  • private prisons
  • restorative justice
  • alternatives
  • intermediate sanctions

• Discussion Questions:
  
  
  1. In comparing theory and policy (Haas & Alpert) with practice (Hassine and Sachar), what are the points of departure? Where do ideas merge? Why.
  2. How do you think offenders will be punished/corrected in the future? Why.
  3. In the future, what should be the dominant goal in corrections? Why.
  4. What recommendations would you make with regard to the way career criminals are handled? Why. Provide examples from the readings.

Ideas and Suggestions for Creative Measures

• Research the latest discussions on "the future of corrections." What are the buzz words and sound bites? Why.
• Which way is corrections heading towards? Why.

Recommended Readings:

• If you liked Holes:
  --- Carl Hiaasen. Hoot.
  --- Will Hobbs. Downriver. (highly recommended by my kid but i haven't read it yet).
  --- Christopher Curtis. Bud, Not Buddy.
  --- Eoin Colfer. Artemis Fowl .
  --- Kimberly Holt. When Zachary Beaver Came to Town.
  --- Paul Beatty The White Boy Shuffle. [not children's literature]
  
  
  
• Alfie Kohn. Beyond Discipline.
• James Austin and John Irwin. It's About Time: America's Imprisonment Binge.
• Jeffery Reiman. The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison.

Interesting Links:

Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Jail Cam Link found by Mary Frances Chachula.
Wisconsin Department of Corrections
Virtual Prison Tour




• Minimum Requirements for Week 14:
  • Know the future trends and directions in American corrections.
  • Be an active discussant in class demonstrating competence in answering this week's discussion questions.
  • Be able to go back and forth between correctional theories (ideologies), policies and practices relating to "the future of corrections."