CRIMINOLOGICAL THEORY AND RESEARCH Soc 4407G-001/9130B Department of Sociology Western University Spring 2014

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1 1 CRIMINOLOGICAL THEORY AND RESEARCH Soc 4407G-001/9130B Department of Sociology Western University Spring 2014 Instructor: Prof. Paul-Philippe Paré Office: 5207 Social Science Centre Office hours: After class or by appointment Phone: (519) , ext Class: Tuesday 1:30-4:30, SSC 5406 This seminar will review and discuss major criminological theories and related empirical research. The course will look at empirical patterns associated with crime, violence and deviance; at the explanations offered for these patterns; and at the sociology of the criminal justice system. This advanced seminar in criminology is intended for graduate students and fourth year honors specialization students. Most of the course material will focus on theoretical and empirical research from sociology and criminology. We will also learn about criminological perspectives from other fields, however: e.g. psychology, economics, and biology. We will study classical and contemporary work (i.e. original writing) and we will also critically analyze their arguments by breaking down their content and examining their strengths and limitations. The seminar involves significant work outside of class because of the heavy reading workload and preparation for discussion. Ultimately, my goal is that students taking this seminar will become better criminologists, theorists, and scientists. Prerequisite(s): Being registered as a graduate student or fourth year honors specialization student in good standing. Basic knowledge of criminology is an important asset; students without this background are welcome but should expect to work harder. Reviewing an introductory criminology textbook during your free time is a recommended warm-up exercise. Learning Outcomes: At the end of this course students will be able to: 1. Understand the mechanisms and assumptions of different criminological theories; discuss their strengths and weaknesses 2. Understand the analytical strategy, methodological concerns, and theoretical relevance of empirical studies in criminology; discuss their strengths and weaknesses 3. Differentiate clearly and coherently criminological theories and studies, including classics and more recent perspectives 4. Understand the reciprocal relationships between theory and empirical research 5. Write a first draft of a potentially publishable criminological study (Graduate Students Only)

2 2 Textbooks Cullen and Agnew (2011) Criminological Theory: Past to Present (4 rd Ed.). Oxford University Press. Kraska and Brent (2011) Theorizing Criminal Justice (2 nd Ed.). Waveland Press. Additional Selected Readings (see p. 7) Course Requirements Your final grade for this course will be calculated as follows: Research proposal (15%); Due in class on February 11. Research paper (50%) pages for graduate students, pages for undergraduate students; Due April 11 in my office. Weekly reading summaries (20%) Active participation during discussion (15%) Graduate and undergraduate students will be graded based on different standards and different grading scales. Graduate students: As a general guideline, an exceptional student might receive a grade in the 90s, a very good student (i.e. many graduate students in this program) might receive a grade in the 80s, and a weaker student might receive a grade below 80. Undergraduate students: I am expecting the class average to be around Of course this may vary based on the number of undergraduate students in the class and the strength of each student. Class Attendance Class attendance strongly recommended. Obviously, you will not receive credits for discussion participation if you are absent. This said, I consider the students in my class to be mature enough to make their own choices, and I will not monitor class attendance. Just attending classes is not considered participation. Research paper I will provide more details about the research paper during the semester. Basically, it will require students to write an original manuscript on a topic relevant to criminological theory and research. The research paper should be written in the format of a manuscript that could be published in an academic journal (about pages of text for graduate students and pages of text for undergraduate students, plus Title Page, Tables/Figures, and References). The analysis of students own empirical data is possible but not mandatory. Turnitin software will be used to check for plagiarism.

3 Students must submit a research proposal that will serve as the blueprint for the research paper (3 pages). The research proposal should include the research question and its theoretical relevance, major references, a detailed breakdown of the sections expected in the final research papers, the analytical strategy, and a short description of the empirical data (if used). I encourage students to make a one-on-one appointment with me to discuss their research topic before submitting the proposal. Discussion Class time will mostly be used for discussion regarding the readings. In order to participate in discussion, students must study and understand very well the readings before the discussion. Discussion topics are closely related to the readings, and I will ask questions about theoretical assumptions and implications, the analytical strategy, methodological concerns, etc. For every reading, a student will be designated as the discussion leader. The discussion leader must write a 1 page reading summary of each paper that will be presented in introduction for the discussion. Discussion is a very important part of this seminar and 15% of your final grade depends on your active participation and preparation. I keep track of the individual participation of each student. Shyness is not an excuse for not participating. Students who disagree with my expectations regarding discussion (or any other aspect of the course) should consider registering for a different course instead. Reading Summaries Each week, every student must write a 1 page single-space reading summary for one of the papers or group of papers they found particularly interesting (in a positive or negative way you can pick a paper because you want to criticize it). You can include a summary of the main points of the paper(s) plus some analytical and critical comments. The grading will be very simple: Check: You got credit for a job well done Double-Checks: Amazing summary. I will only give double-checks to 1 graduate and 1 undergraduate students per week. Zero: Poor scholarship or summary not submitted. Everybody is entitled to re-submit a summary to change a zero into a check 1 time. Adding things up (20 pts.) Full series of check: 16/20 Full series of check with some double checks: 17/20 or more. Some zeros: Below 16/20 3

4 Overview of Topics and Readings 4 Class 1 - Introduction Presentation of the course and the instructor Discussion of some epistemological aspects about this course The beautiful art of debate Review: How to do a critical analysis Information about the research paper PART I THEORIES OF CRIME Class 2 Criminal Minds Personality and crime (C&A 69-77) Antisocial personality: Integrative theory (C&A 78-88) Gottfredson & Hirschi General Theory of low self-control and crime (C&A ) Techniques of Neutralization (C&A ) Moffitt s Pathways to crime (C&A ) Class 3 - Criminogenic Learning and Criminal Identities Differential Association and Social Learning (C&A ) Criminal mentors (Morselli et al., 2006) Masculinities and crime (C&A ) Labeling theory and criminal identities (C&A ) Prison identities (Schmid & Jones, 1991) Class 4 Negative Social Environments and Crime Anomie and Institutional Anomie (C&A , ) Urban inequality, race, and crime / Code of the street (C&A , ) Social Disorganization and Collective Efficacy (C&A 89-99, ) Pressured into crime: General Strain Theory (C&A ) Class 5 Outcome = Situation + Choice : Rational Choice, Structured Choices, Lifestyle Perspectives, and Crime Crime as rational choice; Crime as gangster or party lifestyles (C&A ; Copes 2003) Case Study: Goals and motivations of sexual offenders (Scully and Marolla 1985) Persistence and desistence from crime (C&A ) Control-Balance Theory (C&A ) Class 6 Critical Criminology: Power, Conflict theories, and Crime Marxist Criminology, Social class conflicts, Capitalism and Crime (C&A ) Human suffering, Social Justice, and Peacemaking Criminology (C&A ) Feminist Criminology, Gender conflicts, Women and Crime (C&A ; ) The Gendered Nature of Risk Factors for Delinquency (Belknap & Holsinger 2006)

5 Class 7 It s all fun and games until someone get punched in the face: Conservative Perspectives and Crime Broken Windows theory and social order (C&A ) Crime prevention (including Routine Activity Theory) (C&A , ) A defense of conservative ideas in criminology (Kania 1988) Discussion of other issues (victims rights, public safety, retribution, etc.) 5 Class 8 White Collar Crime Sutherland s classic work and intellectual/historical context (C&A ) Choices and rationalizations of white collar criminals (C&A ) Gender and major corporate frauds (Steffensmeier et al. 2013) PART II THEORIES OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE Class 9 Fighting crime, Fairness, Freedom, Social Order Criminal Justice as compromise between competing goals The necessity of a criminal justice system (K&B 31-44) Crime control vs. Due process (K&B ) Is the criminal justice system a system? (K&B 45-52, 76-91) Class 10 Business as Usual: Criminal Justice as Growth Complex / Industry Criminal Justice, Bureaucracy, and Business Growth (K&B ) The crime control industry, profits, and population management (K&B ) Class 11 Politics as Usual: Criminal Justice as Politics and Ideology Right-wing and Left-wing ideologies/interests and criminal justice (K&B ) Political and goal conflicts in criminal justice (K&B ) Class 12 The Criminal Injustice System: Criminal Justice as Oppression Intellectual and historical context (K&B ) Criminal Justice and the control/oppression of women (K&B ) Criminal Justice and the control/oppression of the poor and powerless (K&B ) Class 13 Late Modernity and Criminal Justice: A Critical Paradigm Intellectual and historical context (K&B ) Garland s critical analysis of crime control and social order (K&B ) The anti-politics of crime and the politicization of crime and insecurity (K&B ) Academic Integrity / Scholastic Discipline UWO promotes the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest, and responsible manner. All students should act with personal integrity, respect of other students, and

6 6 help maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of their efforts. Violations of academic integrity will be treated very seriously. Additional information about Scholastic Discipline can be found at: Plagiarism Students must write their essays and assignments in their own words. Whenever students take an idea, or a passage from another author, they must acknowledge their debt both by using quotation marks where appropriate and by proper referencing such as footnotes or citations. Plagiarism is a major academic offence (see Scholastic Offence Policy in the Western Academic Calendar). Plagiarism Checking All required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to the commercial plagiarism detection software under license to the University for the detection of plagiarism. All papers submitted will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between The University of Western Ontario and Turnitin.com ( Accessibility Statement Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at x for any specific question regarding an accommodation. Outline Disclaimer To the best of my knowledge, this outline provides a correct overview of what students should expect from my class. The outline, however, is not a legal contract between the instructor and the students. It is possible that I will make minor changes to the course during the semester. Announcements of changes, if any, will be made in class and students are responsible for adjusting to these changes. Please check Department of Sociology web site ( for class cancellations or changes

7 Additional Selected Readings 7 Belknap, J. and K. Holsinger (2006) The gendered nature of risk factors for delinquency. Feminist Criminology 1: Copes, Heith (2003) Streetlife and the rewards of auto theft. Deviant Behavior 24: Kania, Richard (1988) Conservative ideology in criminology and criminal justice. American Journal of Criminal Justice 8: Morselli, C.; Tremblay, P.; McCarthy, B. (2006) Mentors and criminal achievement. Criminology 44, Schmid, Thomas and Richard Jones (1991) Suspended Identity: Identity transformation in a maximum-security prison. Symbolic Interaction 14: Scully and Marolla (1985) `Riding the bull at Gilley's': Convicted rapists describe the rewards of rape. Social Problems 32, Steffensmeier, D. et al. (2013) Gender and Twenty-First-Century Corporate Crime: Female Involvement and the Gender Gap in Enron-Era Corporate Frauds. American Sociological Review 78: