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Sociology 368-01 Syllabus
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Critical Criminology, ASC
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Created: December 24, 2000
Latest Update: January 16, 2001
E-Mail Curran or Takata.

25600 SOC 368 01 Criminology 3.0 W 2:30 - 5:15 pm SBS B115 J Curran

Jeanne Curran, Ph.D., Esq.
Professor of Sociology
Member, California State Bar
Office: SBS B 336
Soc. 368-01: Criminology
Classroom: SBS B115
Registration Number: 25600
Wednesday, 2:30 - 5:15 p.m.
Office Hours: T 4-5:15, W 5:30-6:45, Th 4-5:15 p.m. and by appointment.
Phone: (310) 243-3831
E-mail: jeannecurran@habermas.org
Website: http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas

  1. Overview of Course:

    Critical theory approach to classic and traditional theories of criminology interpreted in terms of the most pressing issues facing the US and the world today. We will base our analysis on a brief review of theories of justice, (Rawls and Nozick, in particular), because wars and violence have become ever more real issues in all our lives. Our views of criminal justice hang ultimately on our views of social justice. Critical theory takes the perspective of not just describing the social structure and its interdependence with agency, but also of accepting responsibiliity to actively seek better solutions to the injustices of present reality. Such an approach is integral to our understanding of criminology.

  2. Texts: Required

    • Bruce Arrigo, ed. (1999) Social Justice, Criminal Justice: The Maturation of Critical Theory in Law, Crime and, Deviance. West/Wadsworth. 1999. ISBN: 0-534-54558-0 (pbk.)
      Ordered at campus bookstore.
      Stuart Henry and Dragan Milovanovic, editors. Constitutive Criminology at Work: Applications to Crime and Justice. Suny Press. 1999. ISBN: 0-7914-4194-6 (pbk.)
      Ordered at campus bookstore.

  3. Texts: Recommended

    • Frank P. Williams and Marilyn McShane, Criminology Theory: Readings. Anderson Publishing Co. 1998. ISBN: 0-87084-201-3 (pbk.)
      Ordered at campus bookstore.
    • Kevin Anderson and Richard Quinney, eds. Erich Fromm and Critical Criminology. University of Illinois Press. 2000. ISBN: 0-252-06830-0 (pbk.)
      Ordered at campus bookstore.

  4. Internet Sites: Ability to access required.

    • Course Site: Dear Habermas

      • Dear Habermas
        jeanne's site. Contains syllabi, instructions, vocabulary and concept index, lecture notes, self-test quizzes, discussion questions, and a broad set of reviews and essays on the issues that you will need to consult for quality work in the class. Active attempt to provide you with sources that range from liberal to conservative, in keeping with our effort to teach critical thinking. Online.

    • Liberal "Left" Perspective Sites

      • Critical Criminology, American Society of Criminology
        Excellent site. At minimum, you should be acquainted with its offerings. Critical theory has a left perspective, for it looks for ways to ameliorate our society. The right perspective, the apologetic perspective, is more typically conservative. The right tends to agree that things are not perfect, but they're the best they can be in the reality that is given. Online.

      • The Red Feather Institute
        TR Young's Site. Aimed more directly at graduate students, but covers much of the same material we do. Excellent source for study, and very supportive in learning to cope with dominant discourse. At minimum, you should be acquainted with its offerings. Radical left perspective. Online.

      • Progressive Sociologists Network
        The best site I know of for keeping abreast of general occurrences in those issues which most interest me. Messages posted by advanced students and professors, and activists. Archive permits me to link you directly to the messages. Very useful. Site reflects a left, progressive viewpoint. Online.

    • Conservative "Right" Perspective Sites

      • The Heritage Foundation Conservative Think-Tank. Good starting place for conservative "right" views on issues. Online.

      • Policy Review Published by the Heritage Foundation. Many articles available free. "Policy Review is the preeminent conservative publication for new and serious thinking and writing about the issues of our day." Conservative perspective. Online.

      • American Center for Law and Justice Note the similarity between ACLJ and ACLU. These organizations represent very different perspectives on the issues. Conservative perspective. Online.

      • Townhall Forum Conservative News and Information. Has an Issues Library link that may be of help to you. Conservative perspective. Online.

  5. Required Materials and Resources:

    • A pocket dictionary you can keep with you. $5 variety. Available at bookstore. We really use them.
    • An e-mail address (Available through school at Computer Services, SMC I122 or SMC J113, x. 3702.) you must provide to jeanne by e-mail.
    • Internet access. Access is available through the computing labs on campus. Or visit a friend and share with them. Many of our students do.
    • A journal to record your study and learning. Because the journal and the responsibility for keeping records of your learning are your responsibility, the form of the journal, notebook, scraps of paper, whatever, is up to you. I will not collect them, or ask to look at them. But I will insist upon specificity in response to my question of what you have learned, and most of us forget if we don't have notes to refer to.

  6. Grades and Grading:

    Grades can be important feedback when they are collaborative and used to guide further learning. They are harmful when they become a reified end in their own right, when they become commodified. (Alfie Kohnand Steve O'Donnell) This section describes they ways we provide for you to let us know what you have studied and learned.

    Our overall grading criteria are based on communication, consistency, competency, creativity, and cooperation. Your coursework must show scholarly discipline in conceptually linking your learning to theory, policy, practice, and to course readings and discussions, with appropriate citations to academic sources, and to effective sharing of your thoughts as you shape them. Learning comes from an exchange of ideas, not from memorizing what someone else thought.

    Measures of Learning

    Requirements are based on the measures of learning that we have found most valuable in working with our students. This means that we insist that you write, because writing is still important to communication. Your attendance, active listening, participation in class discussions and other course-related activities provide valuable clues to both your efforts and your ability to demonstrate your learning in situations where that learning is likely to be needed.

    • Checking In Measures
      • Prepared? Exercises
      • Journal
      • Dictionary Records

    • Creative Measures
      • I think I've got it!
      • Asking Questions
      • Reactions to Reading
        • Debriefings
      • Publication in Dear Habermas Academic Discourse Forum
      • Exam
      • Reports of Learning
      Pass? Prepared? Self-Test & Concept Exercises -- Prepared?s are Self-Tests on information assigned. You are expected to e-mail your teacher regularly, one should presume about once a week, that you have prepared by taking the self-test and checking the answers. you will be given about 7 days after the exercise is first assigned to respond. You will have the option of e-mailing "prepared" (meaning "I am prepared to discuss the materials.") or "pass" (meaning "I did not have time to prepare for the class discussion" for whatever reason). Record-keeping in your journal throughout the semester is a must. In addition, it is your responsibility to maintain electronic and/or printed copies of your work, and to double-check the reports of learning (ROL).

      Journal -- Each student must have a self-contained notebook for use throughout the course; bringing the journal to every class meeting. In the journal, you will be expected to record and keep as your record, each prepared message you send, and that you received a response. If you did not, you should record when you last checked your e-mail and then record what you did about the problem. Your teacher will respond to the prepared? e-mail, but you will need to keep your own record that it was respnded to and when. In addition, you will record new words looked up in the dictionary; questions and reactions to the readings and/or class discussions, and so forth.

      You must take responsibility for your learning, which includes keeping records of your learning in your journal (a bounded notebook). Be sure to maintain all records and measures of your learning (i.e., backup hard copies and/or electronic storage of all or your work). If you are working in a group, be sure to have all work carbon copied to all group members.

      Debriefing -- Toward the end of the semester, each student will have an opportunity to give an oral presentation of his/her learning as it relates to "Moving Towards Alternataives to Incarceration and Why"

  7. Statement on Plagiarism: