Professor:
Address:
Email:
Office Phone:
Office Hours:
Annette Nierobisz
234 Leighton Hall
anierobi@carleton.edu
(507) 222-4114
Tues: 10:15-11:45 am
Wed: 3:45-4:45 pm
Thurs: 4:00-5:00 pm
Writing Assistant:
Email:
Iosif Sorokin
sorokini@carleton.edu
SOAN 100: The Myths of Crime
Americans are offered a heavy diet of crime in everyday life. For entertainment we watch television
dramas like CSI, read murder mysteries, or see gangster movies. And we receive a constant barrage of
crime news on television, in newspapers, and online. Yet crime is something we’re more likely to hear
about than experience first-hand – relatively few of us actually become victims of serious crime.
-
Mark Warr (2009)1
Course Objectives:
What is crime? What percentage of the American population is victimized by crime? Who is
the typical offender? Are criminals becoming more violent? In this freshman seminar we
examine popular answers to these and other pressing questions about crime and criminal justice,
and contrast them with sociologically informed accounts. In the process you will learn how to
locate and interpret quantitative evidence, how to apply theoretical accounts of crime to existing
statistics, and how to interrogate popular accounts of crime. By the end of the course you will
have acquired insights into the larger sociological enterprise, particularly as it applies to the
study of crime and criminal justice in contemporary American society. You will also be better
equipped to think critically about the stories and statistics we are told about crime (and perhaps
even other social phenomena).
Course Materials:
Four books are required for this course:
1

Best, Joel. 1999. Random Violence: How We Talk About New Crimes and New Victims.
Berkeley: University of California Press.

Jacoby, Joseph E. (Ed.). 2004. Classics of Criminology, 3rd Edition. Long Grove, IL:
Waveland Press.
Warr, Mark. 2009. “Safe at Home.” Contexts 8: 46-51.

Sacco, Vincent. 2005. When Crime Waves. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Shakur, Sanyika. 1993. Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member. New
York: Penguin Books.
A series of journal articles, book chapters, and newspaper articles are also available online at
JSTOR or ProQuest, or on e-reserve (password: SOAN).
Readings:
All of the assigned readings should be completed prior to class discussion. The material
represents a balance of classic and contemporary literature in criminological theory and research.
Please be an active, critical, and sociologically-informed reader – we will all benefit if you
engage the readings and bring your thoughts, insights and criticisms to class.
Requirements:
Assignment One: In this assignment you are asked to verify the claims made about the deterrent
effects of the death penalty. Your task will be to locate empirical evidence that either refutes or
supports the claims made, and write a paper that summarizes the evidence in approximately 5-7
pages. This assignment is worth 20% of your final grade.
Assignment Two: This assignment has two parts. First, you will read selected chapters from
Joel Best’s Random Violence to understand his theoretical argument about claims-making.
Second, you will evaluate Shakur’s Monster using Best’s arguments and write a paper that is
approximately 4-5 pages in length. This assignment is worth 15% of your final grade.
Assignment Three: This assignment will be ongoing throughout the term and will culminate in a
class presentation and final paper that will be submitted at the end of term. The assignment asks
you critically analyze media claims about a particular crime or criminological issue. This
assignment is worth 60% of your final grade and it involves five separate parts:

Part 1: Find a news article that describes a crime or criminological issue in your home
city, home state, or a U.S. geographic region of your choice. You will submit the article
along with a one-page document that outlines personal anecdotes and/or your perceptions
of the issue.

Part 2: Submit a detailed overview of the statistical indicators you will use to examine the
claims made in your news article. This paper will be two pages in length and it will
include proper citations of your data sources.

Part 3: Submit a first draft of your paper. Some class time will be reserved on October 28
for sharing papers among classmates and providing feedback.

Part 4: Submit a final paper that is approximately ten pages in length, including tables
and charts.
2

Part 5: Present your findings to your classmates.
Class Participation: Given that student participation is vital to the learning experience, class
participation will be considered when computing your final grade. This part of the grade is
based on a combination of involvement in the class and professional conduct in the classroom. I
encourage you to share your thoughts and insights during class discussions, even if you are
uncertain or nervous about doing so. A class that is lively and animated makes for a wonderful
learning experience from which we will all benefit. Please refrain, however, from behaviors that
undermine or disrupt the intellectual climate of the classroom. I don’t believe I need to specify
these behaviors (we all know them when we see them). On a final note, students who miss more
than two classes will lose their class participation grade.
Summary of Class Requirements
Assignment
Distribution Date Submission Date % Value
Assignment One
Sept. 24
Oct. 7
20
Assignment Two
Oct. 8
Oct. 28
(first draft)
Nov 2
(final paper)
15
Assignment Three,
Part 1
Assignment Three,
Part 2
Assignment Three,
Part 3
Assignment Three,
Part 4
Assignment Three,
Part 5
Assignment Three,
Part 6
Class participation
Sept. 15
Sept. 23
5
Sept. 15
Oct. 14
5
Sept. 15
Oct. 21
10
Sept. 15
Nov. 11
10
Sept. 15
Nov. 16
25
Sept. 15
Nov. 17
5
__
__
5
3
COURSE OUTLINE
1. The Sociological Study of Crime
9/13:
Introduction: Why Study the Myths of Crime?
 Sacco, 2005. “Chapter 1: What Are Crime Waves?”
 Shakur, 1998. “Preface.”
 Shakur, 1998. “Initiation.”
 Gabriel, Trip. 2010. “Plagiarism Lines Blur for Students in Digital Age.”
New York Times, August 1, 2010 online edition. Available at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/education/02cheat.html?src=me&ref=ge
neral
9/15:
What is Sociology? A Brief Introduction
 Best, Joel. 1999. “Preface”
 Best, Joel. 1999. “Chapter 1: Random Violence”
 Best, Joel. 1999. “Chapter 2: From Incidents to Instances”
 Gladwell, Malcolm. 2008. “The Roseto Mystery.” Pp. 3-11 in Outliers: The
Story of Success. New York: Little, Brown and Company (e-reserve).
9/17:
Examining Hate Crime for Further Insight into the Sociological Approach
 Best, Joel. 1999. “Chapter 3: Beyond Instances”
 Jacobs, James B. and Jessica S. Henry. 1996. “The Social Construction of a
Hate Crime Epidemic.” The Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology 86: 366391 (e-reserve).
 Lopez, Elias E. 2007. “Two Men Are Charged In Attack on Staten Island.”
The New York Times, Oct. 19, 2007 (e-reserve).
 Bello, Marisol. 2007. “FBI: Hate crimes escalate 8% in 2006; Hispanics,
Muslims, gays among those under sharper attack.” USA Today, Nov. 20, 2007
(e-reserve).
9/20:
Conceptualizing Crime: Classical and Biological Approaches
 Beccaria, Cesare. 1963/2004. “On Crimes and Punishment.” Pp. 352-360 in
J.E. Jacoby (ed.), Classics of Criminology
 Lombroso-Ferrero, Gina. 1911/2004. “Criminal Man.” Pp. 141-156 in J.E.
Jacoby (ed.), Classics of Criminology
 Shea, Christopher. 2009. “The Nature-Nurture Debate, Redux.” The Chronicle
of Higher Education, Jan. 9, 2009 (e-reserve).
4
9/22:
Conceptualizing Crime: Psychological and Sociological Approaches
 Goddard, H.H. 1914/2004. “Feeble-mindedness.” Pp. 165-171 in J.E. Jacoby
(ed.), Classics of Criminology
 Durkheim, Emile. 1938/2004. “The Normal and the Pathological.” Pp. 119123 in J.E. Jacoby (ed.), Classics of Criminology
 Palmer, Alasdair. 2002. “Don’t Blame Me, Blame My Genes.” The Spectator,
Oct. 12, 2002 (e-reserve).
 Gladwell, Malcolm. 2009. “The Trouble with Geniuses, Part 1.” Pp. 69-90 in
Outliers: The Story of Success. New York: Little, Brown and Company (ereserve).
9/24:
Temperature and Crime: Psychological or Sociological Phenomenon?
 Lehren, Andrew W. and Al Baker. 2009. “In New York, Number of Killings
Rises With Heat.” The New York Times, June 19, 2009 (e-reserve).
 Lehren, Andrew W., and Christine Hauser. 2009. “In New York City, Fewer
Murders on Rainy Days.” The New York Times, July 3, 2009 (e-reserve).
 Cohen, L.E. and M. Felson. 1979. “Social Change and Crime Rate Trends: A
Routine Activity Approach.” American Sociological Review 44: 588-608
(available on JSTOR).
9/27:
How do Sociologists Study Crime? Data and Methods
 Sacco, 2005. “Chapter 3: Crime Waves by the Numbers”
 Sacco, 2005. “Chapter 4: Mass Media and Crime Waves”
 Sacco, 2005. “Chapter 5: That’s the Rumor”
 Lipka, Sara. 2009. “Do Crime Statistics Keep Students Safe?” The Chronicle
of Higher Education. January 30, 2009 (e-reserve).
9/29:
The Criminologist’s Library
 Shakur, 1998. “Boys to men”
 Shakur, 1998. “The War.”
 Shukur, 1998. “Ambush”
10/1,4:
The Social Dimensions of Criminal Activity
10/1:
 Best, 1999. “Chapter 7: “Declaring War on Social Problems”
 Best, 1999. “Chapter 8: Connections Among Claims”
 Sacco, 2005. “Chapter 2: Why Do Crime Rates Go Up and Down?
Dislocation, Diffusion, and Innovation.”
 Nizza, Mike. 2008. “Thoughts on Tweaking the ‘War on Terror’ Message.”
The New York Times. May 29, 2008 (e-reserve).
5
10/4:
 “A New Breed of Predator.” St. Petersburg Times, July 19, 1992 (e-reserve).
 Scelfo, J. “Bad Girls Go Wild.” Newsweek, June 13, 2005: 66-68 (e-reserve).
 Dewan, Shaila, Stephanie Saul and Katie Zezima. 2010. “For Professor, Fury
Just Beneath the Surface.” The New York Times, February 20, 2010 (available
at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/us/21bishop.html).
 Steffensmeier, Darrel and Jennifer Schwartz. 2009. “Trends in Girls’
Delinquency and the Gender Gap.” Pp. 50-83 in Margaret Zahn (ed.), The
Delinquent Girl. Philadelphia: Temple University Press (e-reserve).
10/6,8:
The Social Dimensions of Criminal Victimization
10/6:
 Best, Joel. 1999. “Chapter 5: The new victims”
 Best, Joel. 1999. “Chapter 6: The victim industry”
10/8:
 Macmillan, Ross. 2001. “Violence and the Life Course: The Consequences of
Victimization for Personal and Social Development.” Annual Review of
Sociology 27: 1-22 (available on JSTOR).
II. Unpacking More Myths …
10/11:
Visually Presenting Criminological Data
 Best, Joel. 2004. “Confusing Numbers.” Pp. 26-62 in More Damned Lies and
Statistics. Berkeley: University of California Press (E-reserve).
 Lab session – location to be announced.
10/13:
Do the Facts of Crime Explain Other Social Phenomena?
 Kanazawa, Satoshi and Mary C. Still. 2000. “Why Men Commit Crimes (and
Why They Desist).” Sociological Theory 18(3): 434-447 (available on
JSTOR).
 Guthrie, Dale. 2005. “Chapter 1: Drawn from Life.” Pp. 1-50 in The Nature
of Paleolithic Art. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
10/15:
A&I Convocation with Dale Guthrie
 Guthrie, Dale. 2005. “Chapter 4: Testosterone Events and Paleolithic
Imagary.” Pp. 151-208 in The Nature of Paleolithic Art. Chicago: The
University of Chicago Press.
10/18:
Midterm Break
6
10/20:
Crime and the Economy
 Schutt, Russell K. 2006. “Chapter 3: The Process and Problems of Social
Research.” Investigating the Social World, 5th Ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications (e-reserve).
 Presentation Readings (one reading will be assigned to you on 10/08)
1.
Hauser, Christine and Al Baker. 2008. “Keeping wary eye on crime as
economy sinks.” The New York Times October 10, 2008 (e-reserve).
2.
Johnson, Kevin. “Police agencies fear more crime caused by financial
meltdown.” USA Today. 17 Oct. 2008 (e-reserve).
3.
Baker, Al. “As Hard Times Loom, Will New York’s Streets Get Meaner?”
The New York Times. 1 March 2009 (e-reserve).
4.
Urbina, Ian, and Sean D. Hamill. “As Economy Dips, Arrests for
Shoplifting Soar.” The New York Times. 23 Dec. 2008 (e-reserve).
5.
Goodman, Peter S. “As a Budget Gets Tighter, Police Battle Rising
Crime.” The New York Times. 20 April 2009 (e-reserve).
6.
Streitfeld, David. “The Recession Made Them Do It.” The New York
Times. 10 May 2009 (e-reserve).
7.
Moore, Solomon. “Despite Bleak Economy, Crime Numbers Take
Positive Turn.” The New York Times. 2 June 2009 (e-reserve).
8.
Baker, Al. “Crime Drops Despite Fewer Officers in Lean Times.” The
New York Times. 18 July 2009 (e-reserve).
9.
Dewan, Shaila. “The Real Murder Mystery? It’s the Low Crime Rate.”
The New York Times. 2 Aug. 2009 (e-reserve).
10.
Needleman, Sarah E. 2008. “Businesses Say Theft by their Workers is
Up.” The Wall Street Journal, December 11, 2008 (e-reserve).
10/22:
Poverty, Unemployment and Crime
 Merton, Robert K. 1938/2004. “Social Structure and Anomie.” Pp. 214-223
in J.E. Jacoby (ed.) Classics of Criminology
 Shaw, Clifford R., and Henry D. McKay. 1942/2004. “Juvenile Delinquency
in Urban Areas.” Pp. 19-25 in J.E. Jacoby (ed.) Classics of Criminology.
 Shaw, Clifford R., and Henry D. McKay. 1942/2004. “Differential Systems
of Values.” Pp. 240-247 in J.E. Jacoby (ed.) Classics of Criminology.
 “Can the Can”. The Economist. 20 Nov. 2008.
 Uggen, Christopher. 1999. “Ex-Offenders and the Conformist Alternative: A
Job Quality Model of Work and Crime.” Social Problems 46: 127-151
(available on JSTOR).
7
10/25,27:
Street Kids: Re-assessing the Poverty, Unemployment and Crime Relationship
10/25:
 Hagan, J. and B. McCarthy. 1997. “Chapter One: Street and School
Criminologies.” Pp. 1-21 in Mean Streets: Youth Crime and Homelessness.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (E-reserve).
 Urbina, Ian. 2009. “Recession Drives Surge in Youth Runaways.” The New
York Times, October 26, 2009 (e-reserve).
 Urbina, Ian. 2009. “For Runaways, Sex Buys Survival.” The New York
Times, October 27, 2009 (e-reserve).

FILM: Streetwise (to be viewed in class)
10/27:
 McCarthy, B. and J. Hagan. 1992. “Mean streets: The theoretical
significance of situational delinquency among homeless youths.” American
Journal of Sociology 98(3): 597-627. (Available on JSTOR).
10/29-11/3
The Problem of Juvenile Gangs
10/29:
 Thrasher, Frederick M. 1927/2004. “What is a Gang?” Pp. 4-8 in J.E. Jacoby
(ed.), Classics of Criminology
 Best, Joel. 1999. “Chapter 4: Gangs, Conspiracies, and Other Cultural
Resources”
 Moore, Solomon. 2008. “Hundreds Are Arrested in Anti-gang Crackdown.”
The New York Times. October 2, 2008.
11/1:
 Shakur, 1993. “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop”
 Shakur, 1993. “The Juvenile Tank”
 Thornberry, Terence P. et al. 2003. “Research Procedures: The Sample and
the Data.” Pp. 11-31 in Gangs and Delinquency in Developmental
Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (E-reserve).
 Discussion of Assignment 2 will take place during the second half of class.
11/3: Presentation readings (one reading will be assigned to you on 10/29)
1. Thornberry, Terence P. et al. 2003. “Characteristics of Gang Members.”
Pp. 32-95 in Gangs and Delinquency in Developmental Perspective.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (e-reserve).
2. Thornberry, Terence P. et al. 2003. “The Antecedents of Gang
Membership.” Pp. 56-76 in Gangs and Delinquency in Developmental
Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (e-reserve).
8
3. Thornberry, Terence P. et al. 2003. “The Origins of Gang Membership.”
Pp. 77-95 in Gangs and Delinquency in Developmental Perspective.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (e-reserve).
4. Thornberry, Terence P. et al. 2003. “Gangs and Other Law-Violating
Youth Groups.” Pp. 140-62 in Gangs and Delinquency in Developmental
Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (e-reserve).
5. Thornberry, Terence P. et al. 2003. “Long-Term Consequences of Gang
Membership.” Pp. 163-80 in Gangs and Delinquency in Developmental
Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (e-reserve).
III. Is Criminal Rehabilitation Possible?
11/5,8:
Prisons: History and Contemporary Reality
11/5:
 Foucault, M. 1975/2004. “Discipline and Punish.” Pp. 491-505 in J.E.
Jacoby (ed.), Classics of Criminology
 Giles, K. 2008. “Bigger, safer, stronger: A prison for the future.”
Minneapolis Star Tribune, Oct. 1, 2009, p. B1 & B7 (e-reserve).
 Walmsley, R. World Prison Population List (available at
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/law/research/icps/downloads/world-prison-popseventh.pdf)
11/8:
 Western, B., M. Pattillo and D. Weiman. 2004. “Introduction.” Pp. 1-18 in
M. Pattillo, D. Weiman and B. Western (eds), Imprisoning America. New
York: Russell Sage Foundation (e-reserve).
 Moore, Solomon. 2009. “Court Orders California to Cut Prison Population.”
The New York Times, Feb 10, 2009 (e-reserve).
 Goodman, Peter S. 2009. “Budget Cuts Eroding Progress in Juvenile Justice.”
The New York Times, July 11, 2009 (e-reserve).
11/10:
The Social Impact of Incarceration on Families
Presentation Readings (one reading will be assigned to you on 11/04):
1. Edin, Kathryn, Timothy J. Nelson, and Rechelle Paranal. 2004.
“Fatherhood and Incarceration as Potential Turning Points in the
Criminal Careers of Unskilled Men.” Pp. 46-75 in Imprisoning
America. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
2. Nurse, Anne M. 2004. “Returning to Strangers: Newly Paroled
Young Fathers and their Children.” Pp. 76-96 in Imprisoning America.
New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
3. Johnson, Elizabeth I. and Jane Waldfogel. 2004. “Children of
Incarcerated Parents: Multiple Risks and Children’s Living
Arrangements.” Pp. 97-134 in Imprisoning America. New York:
Russell Sage Foundation.
9
11/12:
The Social Impact of Incarceration on Communities
Presentation Readings (one reading will be assigned to you on 11/04):
1. Lynch, James P. and William J. Sabol. 2004. “Effects of
Incarceration on Informal Social Control in Communities.” Pp. 135164 in Imprisoning America. New York: Russell Sage Foundation (ereserve).
2. Uggen, Christopher and Jeff Manza. 2004. “Lost Voices: The Civic
and Political Views of Disenfranchised Felons.” Pp. 165-204 in
Imprisoning America. New York: Russell Sage Foundation (ereserve).
3. Holzer, Harry J., Steven Raphael, and Michael A. Stoll. 2004. “Will
Employers Hire Former Offenders? Employer Preferences,
Background Checks and their Determinants.” Pp. 205-243 in
Imprisoning America. New York: Russell Sage Foundation (ereserve).
11/15:
Myths of Crime and Public Policy: Where Do We Go From Here?
 Sacco, 2005. “Chapter 7: Crime waves and public policy”
 Sacco, 2005. “Chapter 8: Crime waves: A skeptic’s guide”
 Travis, J. 2004. “Reentry and Reintegration: New Perspectives on the
Challenges of Mass Incarceration.” Pp. 247-267 in Imprisoning America.
New York: Russell Sage Foundation (e-reserve).
11/17:
Class Presentations of Assignment 3
10