CRIMINOLOGY Crim 7200 Wednesday 5:30-8:00 pm Churchill 200 Spring 2016

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1 CRIMINOLOGY Crim 7200 Wednesday 5:30-8:00 pm Churchill 200 Spring 2016 Professor: Ekaterina Botchkovar 425 Churchill Hall Office Hours: Tuesday & Friday 12-1 pm or by appointment Course Description This seminar will introduce you to the subject of criminology and to major criminological theories. We will discuss the concepts of deviance and crime as well as some ad-hoc explanations for a few known correlates of crime. We will also trace the origins of criminological theories and examine their underlying assumptions and contributions to criminology, important empirical findings generated by theoretical research, and recent debates about criminological theory in the literature. Finally, we will evaluate some recent theoretical developments in criminology focusing on the extent to which they move us beyond traditional perspectives. Throughout, we will be especially concerned with the following issues: 1) evolution of central concepts in criminology over time; 2) unique contributions of each theory to our understanding of crime; 3) relationships among theoretical concepts; and 4) operationalization of theoretical concepts in empirical research and assessment of research findings relevant to these theoretical concepts. Required Books Available at University Bookstore: Cullen, Francis, Robert Agnew, and Pamela Wilcox. Criminological Theory: Past to Present. 5th edition. Buy online: Hagan, John Who Are the Criminals? The Politics of Crime Policy from the Age of Roosevelt to the Age of Reagan. Princeton University Press. Additional required readings will be posted on Blackboard Course Requirements and Grading Class Participation (10% of final grade) To facilitate achieving the course goals, all class participants should think about the following questions as we read: 1) What are the contributions of a given theory/perspective to the criminological literature? 2) How is this perspective related to other viewpoints that we have already discussed? (if applicable); 3) What are its limitations? 4) How can this theory and supporting evidence be useful to policy makers? Keep in mind that active seminar participation is a necessary (but not sufficient) condition to earning an A grade. Abstracts and Facilitation of In-Class Discussion (10% of final grade) Each week a few participants will be asked to lead discussions and to turn in short abstracts of assigned readings. All other participants should be prepared to discuss these readings each week. Please submit your abstracts to me by midnight on the night preceding your presentation. Midterm and Final Examinations (40% of final grade) Final exam will be optional for those who have received no less than a B+ on the midterm exam. The midterm exam will be take-home. Questions will be provided a week in advance. No group work while working on the exams is allowed. Course Paper (40% of final grade): Due April 22 An original seminar project is required of all students. You can write a research proposal; work on a synthesis and critical evaluation of a particular line of research in criminology; trace the development of a particular theory (or a group of theories, for that matter), or even produce an empirical paper addressing a substantive problem in criminology. Please note that this paper must go beyond what you have already done (or are doing currently) for another course.

2 Course Policy 1. At no time should you feel uncomfortable or degraded because of words or acts that you find offensive. If anyone, including myself or any of your peers, says or does anything that you consider harassment of any kind, you may contact me in person or write me anonymously. 2. Reasonable accommodations will be made for seminar participants with disabilities. Please see me as soon as possible if any of such accommodations should be provided. 3. Don t cheat, don t plagiarize. Violations of academic integrity will be handled in accordance with the university policy (see for more information). Schedule and Readings (Note: Readings may be added or deleted throughout the semester) Week 1 (Jan 13) Course introduction. Definitions of crime and deviance. Criminological theory and research. First abstract assignments. Tittle, Charles The Arrogance of Public Sociology. Social Forces. 82(4): Christopher Uggen and Michelle Inderbitzin Public Criminologies. Criminology and Public Policy 9: Sherman, Lawrence L., Denise C. Gottfredson, Doris L. MacKenzie, John Eck, Peter Reuter, and Shawn D. Bushway Preventing Crime: What Works, What Doesn t, What s Promising. National Institute of Justice Research in Brief. Washington, DC: USGPO. Week 2 (Jan 20)- --Internal Control Theories C,A, & W.-Ch. 18 &19. Burt, Callie and Ronald L. Simmons Self-Control, Thrill Seeking, and Crime Motivation Matters. Criminal Justice and Behavior 40: Sampson, Robert J. and John H. Laub Crime and Deviance over the Life Course: The Salience of Adult Social Bonds. American Sociological Review 55: Wikström, Per-Olof H Situational Action Theory. In Encyclopedia of Criminological Theory, eds. Francis Cullen and Pamela Wilcox. Sage. Week 3 (Jan 27)- Internal Control Theories (Cont.) Hirschi, Travis Self-Control and Crime in Handbook of Self-Regulation: Research, Theory, and Applications. Ed.by R. Baumeister. Piquero, Alex and Jeff Bouffard Something Old, Something New: A Preliminary Investigation of Hirschi s Redefined Self-Control. Justice Quarterly 24:1-27. Tittle, Charles R., David A. Ward, and Harold G. Grasmick Capacity for Self-Control and Individuals Interest in Exercising Self-Control. Journal of Quantitative Criminology 20: Hay, Carter and Walter Forrest The Development of Self-Control: Examining Self-Control Theory s Stability Thesis. Criminology 44: Week 4 (Feb 3) Learning Theories (DAT and SLT) C, A &W Ch. 10, 11, 17

3 Heimer, Karen and Stacy De Coster The Gendering of Violent Delinquency. Criminology 37: Cressey, Donald R. and John Irwin "Thieves, Convicts, and the Inmate Culture." Social Problems 10: Thomas, Kyle J. May Delinquent peer influence on offending versatility: Can peers promote specialized delinquency?. Criminology. 53, (2), Clampet-Lundquist, Susan, Kathryn Edin, Jeffrey R. Kling, and Greg J. Duncan Moving At-Risk Youth Out of High-Risk Neighborhoods: Why Girls Fare Better Than Boys. American Journal of Sociology 116: Week 5 (Feb 10) Strain Theories C,A&W Ch. 13, 15. Baumer, Eric P. and Regan Gustafson Social Organization and Instrumental Crime: Assessing the Empirical Validity of Classical and Contemporary Anomie Theories. Criminology 45: Zhao, Ruohui and Liqun Cao "Social Change and Anomie - A Cross-National Study." Social Forces 88: Rosenfeld, Richard and Robert Fornango The Impact of Economic Conditions on Robbery and Property Crime: The Role of Consumer Sentiment. Criminology 45: Hagan, John and Wenona Rymond-Richmond The Collective Dynamics of Racial Dehumanization and Genocidal Victimization in Darfur. American Sociological Review 6: [not directly relevant to strain theories but provides context] Week 6 (Feb 17) Strain Theories (Cont.) C, A&W-Ch.16 Broidy, L., and Agnew, R Gender and crime: A general strain theory perspective. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency. 34: De Coster, Stacy and Lisa Kort-Butler How General is General Strain Theory: Assessing Issues of Determinacy and Indeterminacy. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 43:1-29. Botchkovar, Ekaterina V., Charles R. Tittle, and Olena Antonaccio General Strain Theory: Additional Evidence Using Cross-Cultural Data. Criminology 47: Agnew, Robert A General Strain Theory of Terrorism. Theoretical Criminology 14: Week 7 (Feb 24) --Deterrence and Rational Choice; Situational Crime Prevention Paper Proposals (2-3 pages) Due. C,A&W Ch. 33, 34, 35 Apel, R Sanctions, Perceptions, and Crime: Implications for Criminal Deterrence. Journal of Quantitative Criminology 29:

4 Laura Dugan and Erica Chenoweth Moving Beyond Deterrence: The Effectiveness of Raising the Expected Utility of Abstaining from Terrorism in Israel. American Sociological Review 77: Nagin, Daniel S Deterrence: A Review of the Evidence by a Criminologist for Economists. Annual Review of Economics 5: Week 8 (March 2) Midterm Examination Week 9 (March 9) Spring Break Week 10 (March 16) Social Disorganization Theory C,A & W- Ch. 7, 8, 9. David S. Kirk and Andrew V. Papachristos Cultural Mechanisms and the Persistence of Neighborhood Violence. American Journal of Sociology 116: Lyons, Christopher Community (Dis)Organization and Racially Motivated Crime. American Journal of Sociology 113: Braga, Anthony A. and R.V. Clarke Explaining High-Risk Concentrations of Crime in the City: Social Disorganization, Crime Opportunities, and Important Next Steps. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 51: Week 11(March 16) Labeling Theory C,A&W-Ch. 20, 21, 22 Becker, Howard S. Outsiders. 1, 2, 8, 10. Matthew Desmond and Nicole Valdez Unpolicing the Urban Poor: Consequences of Third-Party Policing for Inner-City Women. American Sociological Review 78: Matsueda, Ross Reflected Appraisals, Parental Labeling, and Delinquency: Specifying a Symbolic Interactionist Theory. American Journal of Sociology 97: Week 12 (March 23) Crime and the Life Course. Criminal Trajectories C,A&W - 40, 42. Gottfredson, Michael and Travis Hirschi The True Value of Lambda Would Appear to Be Zero. Criminology 24: Tittle, Charles Two Empirical Irregularities (Maybe) In Search of An Explanation: Commentary on the Age and Crime Debate. Criminology 26: Blumstein, Alfred, Jacqueline Cohen and David Farrington Criminal Career Research: Its Value for Criminology. Criminology 26:1-35. Week 13 (March 30) Crime and the Life Course (Cont.) Workshop on Term Papers. Laub, John H., and Robert J. Sampson Shared Beginnings, Divergent Lives: Delinquent Boys to Age 70. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Chapters 1, 2, 3, 10.

5 Nagin, Daniel S., and Richard E. Tremblay Developmental Trajectory Groups: Fact or a Useful Statistical Fiction? Criminology 43: Sampson, Robert J., and John H. Laub Seductions of Method: Rejoinder to Nagin and Tremblay s Developmental Trajectory Groups: Fact or Fiction? Criminology 43: Week 14 (April 6) Gender Gap in Crime; Feminist Theories C, A, & W.--Ch. 28, 29 Heimer, Karen Changes in the gender gap in crime and women s economic marginalization. In Gary LaFree (ed), Criminal Justice 2000: The Nature of Crime, Continuity and Change, Vol. 1. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.* McCarthy, Bill, John Hagan and Todd S. Woodward In the Company of Women: Structure and Agency in a Revised Power-Control Theory of Gender and Delinquency. Criminology 37: Maher, Lisa Sexed Work: Gender, Race and Resistance in a Brooklyn Drug Market. Oxford University Press. Sel. Chapters. Week 15 (April 13)-New Developments in Criminology: Heritability vs. Social Influence; Integrated Theories Burt, Callie H., & Ronald L. Simons Pulling Back the Curtain on Heritability Studies: Biosocial Criminology in the Postgenomic Era. Criminology 52: Barnes, J.C., John Paul Wright, Brian B. Boutwell, Joseph A. Schwartz, Eric J. Connolly, Joseph L. Nedelec, and Kevin M. Beaver Demonstrating the Validity of Twin Research in Criminology. Criminology 52: Burt, Callie H., & Ronald L. Simons Heritability Studies in the Postgenomic Era: The Fatal Flaw is Conceptual. Criminology 53: Wright, John Paul, J.C. Barnes, Brian B. Boutwell, Joseph A. Schwartz, Eric J. Connolly, Joseph L. Nedelec, and Kevin M. Beaver Mathematical Proof is Not Minutiae and Irreducible Complexity is Not a Theory: A Final Response to Burt and Simons and a Call to Criminologists. Criminology 53: Agnew, Robert Social Concern and Crime: Moving Beyond the Assumption of Simple Self Control. Criminology 52: Week 16 (April 20) New Developments in Criminology (Cont.); Wrap Up. C, A, & W. 48, 49, 50. Hagan Who Are the Criminals? Ch. 1, 3, 4, 5.