COMPREHENSIVE EXAM – CRIME, LAW AND DEVIANCE/DEMOGAPHY
TAKE HOME FORMAT INSTRUCTIONS
This is a two-day take home exam, due on November 19th by 3PM. You will pick up your exam on
November 17th; please do so between the hours of 9AM and 11AM so that Evelyn can predictably expect when you will arrive. Return your exam to Evelyn on the 19 th
at her office in CLA by 3 PM (if she is out of the office, she will leave instructions about how to contact her). Evelyn will give you written confirmation that she has received your exam.
The exam requires you to write answers to six questions. Each section of the exam (formerly termed the
“Day” of the exam) indicates which questions are required and which you are to select from a list of multiple questions. Read the instructions carefully and be sure to provide answers on all of the required questions.
This is an open-book exam. By “open book,” we refer to your being allowed to use notes, texts and readings from classes you have taken and summary materials and books you have using to prepare for the exam. Although nothing prohibits you from consulting additional “new” material during the exam period, you are strongly advised against using the limited take-home time to conduct significant additional research. Regardless of the source you use, be sure to always give proper credit and citation to any books or articles that inform your answer, especially if you are using direct quotes.
There is no page limit but the quality and clarity of your writing will be a factor in evaluating the merits of your answer, together with demonstration of critical/original thinking and accurate representation of the material you have reviewed. You may allocate the time across the questions in any way you see fit. A completed exam consists of six answers that have been typed up and printed using 1” margins, 12-point font, and double spacing.
IMPORTANT NOTE : YOU ARE ENTIRELY RESPONSIBLE FOR TURNING IN YOUR EXAM ON
TIME. PLEASE VIGILENTLY ENSURE THE BACK UP AND PROPER COMPUTER STORAGE OF
ALL OF YOUR WORK. YOU MAY EMAIL EVELYN A WORKING COPY OF YOUR EXAM AS
ONE FORM OF BACK UP, BUT THE ACCEPTED FINAL VERSION MUST BE IN HARD COPY
FORM AND SUBMITTED IN PERSON. THERE ARE ABSOLUTELY NO
EXCEPTIONS/EXTENTIONS GRANTED FOR COMPUTER CRASHES, PRINTER PROBLEMS, OR
OTHER MISHAPS. IT IS ADVISABLE THAT YOU ROUTINELY BACK UP AND PRINT
MATERIAL. IF YOU FAIL TO TURN IN YOUR EXAM BY 3PM ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15 th
FOR
ANY REASON, YOU WILL BE ASKED TO TAKE COMPREHENSIVE EXAMS IN SUBSEQUENT
SEMESTER. PLEASE LEAVE SUFFICIENT TIME FOR PRINTING, FOR TRAVEL TO THE
UNIVERSITY, OR TO COMPENSATE FOR ANY OTHER UNEXPECTED FACTOR.
UNIVERSITY HONOR CODE: "The core values of The University of Texas at Austin are learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity, and responsibility. Each member of the university is expected to uphold these values through integrity, honesty, trust, fairness, and respect toward peers and community.
" Consistent with this code, you must work on this exam without consultation with others and any form of plagiarism will not be tolerated.
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Section One
Answer the following two questions.
1) In his 2003 book, Methods of Discovery: Heuristics for the Social Sciences , Andrew Abbott argued that “the heart of good work is a puzzle and an idea”. Within the past fifty years, identify what you think are the five best ideas or best puzzles in criminology and exactly why you think those ideas or puzzles would constitute “good work”.
2) Drawing on the most current state of knowledge, what would you say is known about the relationship between immigration to the United States and crime? Comment on both the likelihood that immigrants (documented or undocumented) commit crime as well as the likelihood that an immigrant community is exposed to crime (e.g., is more likely to be victims). What criminological theory or theories best explain the findings and patterns you observe?
Answer one of the following questions.
1) Two classic criminological theories make vastly different predictions about the role of sanctions.
Labeling theory anticipates that sanctions will generate further crime while deterrence theory anticipates that sanctions will inhibit further crime. A third theory, defiance, offers that the effect of sanctions on further crime is contingent on characteristics related to the offender, the sanction, and the sanctioning agent. Yet a fourth, procedural justice theory, argues that sanction outcomes are less important for compliance than the process or procedures by which those sanctions are imposed on people. Discuss these theories, the evidence supporting their predictions, and which perspective you think provides the best theoretical framework to think about sanctions.
2) The past 40 years of American criminal justice policy has had punishment as the centerpiece. How effective has this focus on incarceration and control been at reducing crime and recidivism? What have we learned about the effects of incapacitation and deterrence from the great American punishment experiment? In light of what we now know, what recommendations do you have about justice policy going forward?
3) Delinquent behavior is predominantly group behavior, and the number of delinquent friends an adolescent has is one of the strongest known correlates of delinquent behavior. How might delinquent peers help to explain some of the known features of criminal behavior, such as its age distribution, sex differences, and the impact of life-course events like marriage, employment, or military service? What research can you cite on these matters, and what further work is needed?
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Section Two
Answer one of the following two questions.
1) Official arrest records, victimization surveys, and some self-report studies suggest that African-
Americans have higher crime rates than White Americans. In this essay, you are to summarize what is known about race differences in crime and violence and evaluate two sociological theories of your choice in their utility to explain these racial differences.
2) Scholars have asserted that theorizing on the causes of crime needs to move beyond treating gender as a variable and begin to fully account for the gender gap in crime. First, what do we know about the gender gap in crime (patterns and trends)? Second, assess the extent to which existing theories of criminal behavior can be used to explain the gender gap in crime.
Answer one of the following two questions.
1) Over the past two decades, life course criminology has ascended to a place of prominence in the field of criminology. Discuss the life course approach to the study of crime. What do you see as the major contributions to the field (theoretical, conceptual, empirical), and what are the open issues of theoretical and methodological debate within this area of study?
2) Researchers have posited that turning points in the lives of criminal offenders—such as employment, marriage, and parenthood—strengthen their social ties and contribute to desistance from crime. A challenge in empirically testing the effect of such turning points has been the issue of self-selection into life transitions. Describe how researchers can manage the issue of selection in order to test the importance of turning points in the life course of crime.
Answer one of the following two questions.
1) An impressive and growing body of knowledge has examined the collateral consequences of mass incarceration for society. In this essay, review the current state of knowledge with respect to the effects of mass incarceration on children and families, health, employment, neighborhoods, and the representativeness of democracy. Following this review, describe what are the three most pressing questions for researchers to examine related to mass incarceration and social inequality.
2) Assess the state of the research literature on the relationship between residential mobility and criminal behavior. What are the most important findings, where are the shortcomings, and what questions remain? In your response be sure to draw upon studies of court-mandated mobility programs and government sponsored mobility programs such as the HUD-funded Moving to
Opportunity (MTO) program.
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