Contemporary Criminological Theory
CRIM 3011.2
Winter 2012
Dr. Karla Henderson, PhD Karla.Henderson@smu.ca tel. 420-5871
Class Tues. & Thurs. 10:00-11:15 in Loyola 174
Office Hrs. Tues. 1:00-2:15 and by appointment, McNally South 429
Consider these recurring themes in social life:
Youth crime, drug crime, gang crime, petty crime, white collar
crime, domestic violence, environmental crime, capital
punishment, vigilantism, cult crime, war crime, sport crime,
student uprising, elder abuse, “senseless” crime, sex crime,
scams, cyber bullying and other forms of resistance or deviance.
Now consider some responses:
Laws and policy, police, justice, jails,
probation, blaming victims, media
frenzy, surveillance, rehabilitation,
religion, execution, research.
Whatever else it might be, crime is
a complex social phenomenon.
“Fighting” crime is a top western priority, yet Statistics Canada reports that one in four of us was
victimized in 2010 alone, so the fight doesn’t pack much of a punch – even though criminologists have
been sharing their insight for more than a century. How can such a crime rate exist within an otherwise
civil society? We explore the development of seven major schools of thought in contemporary
criminological theory – theories that have developed over the past 3 to 4 decades:
Theories
Application to
Mid-term Test:
1. Convict Criminology
Ex-cons as Academics?
2. Masculinity Criminology
Hockey
Comic Books/Movies
3. Feminist Criminology
Breast Implantation Lawsuits
Campus Violence
Final Exam:
4. Cultural Criminology
Profiling at the Airport
5. Peacemaking Criminology
Restorative Justice
6. Environmental Criminology
Urban Graffiti
Radio Caroline
7. Developmental Theory of Crime Cyber-bullying
The lecture-style format welcomes curious student interjections; no hemlock cocktails here. The
course happens in the classroom, not through email or on Blackboard. With full participation:
- gain familiarity with several philosophical positions in contemporary criminological theory
- refine the skill of applying theories to data and developing your own hypotheses to test
- learn to use the online library university database to find articles you’ve already paid for
Along with a mid-term test and final exam, you will write a single-spaced three-page paper (not
including title, reference, or brainstorming pages), applying a theory we’re discussing in class to a crime
event of your choice that happened in your home town or city. In groups, we will generate and discuss
theory. We’ll also have a guest speaker and/or watch a video.
Course readings: internet, SMU library, Blackboard.
Tell me if this course creates a disability for you.
Contact me if you will be missing class.
I can read doctors’ writing and am gifted with plagiarism radar.
Re-send emails if I don’t respond within a day.
Evaluation and Dates
10% Participation and Attendance, combined; calculated at end of term
25% Mid-Term Test on February 14 on all material up to the mid-term; storm date February 16
25% Theoretical Application Paper due March 13; storm date March 15
35% Final Exam on all material following the mid-term: April _____; time________; place___________
Weekly Lecture Guide and Online Reading Information
Weeks 1 and 2 (January 5, 10, 12) Theory and Crime; Convict Criminology of Ross and Richards
http://www.convictcriminology.org/pdf/jiross/IntroducingConvictCriminology.pdf
- On theory in general: What is it? What’s it good for? Why the bad rap by non-academics?
- What is crime? Is it innate to us? Who are Garofalo, Topinard and Lombroso?
- Main differences between classical and contemporary criminological theory
- Ex-cons as academics?
Weeks 3 and 4 (January 17, 19, 24, 26)
(Hegemonic) Masculinity Criminology of Raewyn Connell
1. Connell, R.W. (2002). On hegemonic masculinity and violence: Response to Jefferson and Hall.
Theoretical Criminology, 6(1), 89-99.
2. Peberdy, D. (2010). From wimps to wild men: Bipolar masculinity and the paradoxical
performances of Tom Cruise. Men and Masculinities, 13(2), 231-254.
Hockey; Comic Book and Movie Hero/Villain
Weeks 5 and 6 (January 31; February 2, 7, 9)
Feminist Criminology of DeKeseredy and Schwartz
1. Chesney-Lind, M. (2006). Patriarchy, crime, and justice: Feminist criminology in an era of
backlash. Feminist Criminology, 1(1), 6-26.
2. http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/0070918082/83003/Chapter7.pdf (pp. 187-192)
3. http://www.biscmi.org/jod/bhart_Genderedsocialbond.pdf
Breast Implantation Lawsuits; Campus Violence
Week 7 (February 14, 16) February 14: Mid-term Test (storm date February 16)
Test, tests returned and reviewed, start cultural criminology
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Week 8 (Week of February 20) Break
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Week 9 (February 28; March 1)
Cultural Criminology of Stephen Muzzatti
Rothe, D. and Muzzotti, S.L. (2004). Enemies everywhere: Terrorism, moral panic, and US civil
society. Critical Criminology, 12(3), 327-350.
Profiling at the Airport
Weeks 10 and 11 (March 6, 8, 13, 15) March 13: Paper Due Peacemaking Criminology of Gregg Barak
Barak, G. (2005). A reciprocal approach to peacemaking criminology: Between adversarialism and
mutualism. Theoretical Criminology, 9(2), 131-152.
Restorative Justice in Nova Scotia
Week 12 (March 20, 22)
Environmental Criminology of the Brantinghams
Brantingham, P.L, Brantingham, P.J. and Taylor, W. (2005). Situational crime prevention as a key
component in embedded crime. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 47(2), 271-292.
Urban Graffiti; Radio Caroline
Week 13 (March 27, 29) (March 29, final lecture) Developmental Theory of Crime of Terrie Moffitt
Chen, X. and Adams, M. (2010). Are teen delinquency abstainers introverts? A test of Moffit’s
theory. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 47(4), 439-468.
Cyber-bullying
Grading Scale (as your grade will appear on final transcript) (from SMU Calendar, Section 5a)
A+ 90-100
B+ 77-79
C+ 67-69
D 50-59
A 85-89
B 73-76
C 63-66
F 0-49
A- 80-84
B- 70-72
C- 60-62