Criminology
Soci. 3343, Sect. 001, Mon. & Wed. 12:30-1:50 pm
UAC 409, Fall 2013
“Criminology, as a special field within sociology, has uncovered valuable information about
processes of crime in modern society. This information is equally valuable for those
seeking to fight crime as it would be for those interested in promoting it.”
-Peter Berger, 1963 Invitation to Sociology
Instructor: Michael Whitehawk
Office: UAC room 448
Office Hours: Mon/Wed. 11:00–noon, & Tue/Thur 2:00-3:00 or by appointment
Phone: 245-4766 (voice mail)
E-mail: mw39@txstate.edu (best)
GA: Kellen Begin kbegin@txstate.edu
I reserve the right to change this syllabus and any assignments that are given.
Note: Please read the syllabus in its entirety on your own time. If, upon completion of
reading the syllabus, you are unable to accept the assignments, objectives, expectations,
policies, and appropriate behavior as specified, dropping this course is necessary.
Course
This course is a survey of various theories of crime, causes of crime, areas
Description: crime, treatment of criminals through the courts, punishment, reform,
education, probation and parole, and means of crime prevention.
Course
Objectives:
This course will provide students with a general understanding of the
sociological perspective of crime and the criminal justice system. The main
objective of this course is to provide students with the necessary tools to
critically assess the social world we experience everyday. By the end of the
course students should be able: 1) To understand a historical context of
crime and the current criminal justice system, 2) To understand the various
theories of criminal behavior covered in the course, 3) To understand how
social forces effect criminality, and 5) To understand social policy issues
regarding crime and analogous social injuries from a sociological
perspective.
Philosophy: Students are expected to complete all readings prior to class, attend class,
and participate in discussion. I view teaching as a learning experience, not
only for students, but for myself as well. Therefore, I encourage discussion
and questions to facilitate the learning process on both our parts. Students
are responsible for all the material in the required readings, even if the
material has not been discussed in class. Some of the exam questions will
come from your readings, even if we have not explicitly covered it in class.
If you are unable to attend class, I encourage you to get notes from a
classmate. In addition, I will be happy to discuss the notes with you after
you have gotten them from someone else. I do not give out grades over the
phone or via e-mail. I bring grades, assignments, and class materials to
class only once. If you are absent on a day something was handed out, you
must share with a classmate or come by my office to receive it.
Handouts:
If you are absent on a day when class materials are passed out, it is your
responsibility to find out about any missed information, including
announcements, handouts, and assignments.
Office Hours: Students are encouraged to come to office hours to ask questions and
discuss class material. I will not, however, share my notes or recite class
lectures. Please feel free to e-mail or call me.
Readings:
Keeping up with the reading is expected at all times. The following text
is required for the course. It is an electronic or e-text and its usage vital for
success in our course. It is accessed through our course TRACS site under
the tab Textbooks. There is no need to purchase this e-book.
Required Text: Berger, Ronald J. 2009. Crime, Justice, and Society. Third Edition.
Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc.
Learning
Disabled
Students:
Students with special needs (as documented by the Office of Disability
Services) should identify themselves at the beginning of the term.
The Department of Sociology is dedicated to providing students with the
necessary academic adjustments and auxiliary aids to facilitate their
participation and performance in the classroom.
Exams:
(70%)
There will be three exams including the final. The exams will consist of
multiple-choice and true/false questions. The material for each of these
exams will be drawn from both your course reading and from lecture
material. Each exam is worth 23.333% of the overall grade. The final exam
is comprehensive and may have an essay component. Note that the first two
exams are not comprehensive, but the nature of sociology tends toward
cumulative knowledge. Hence, there will be concepts, theories, and
interpretations learned in the beginning of the course that will be applicable
to questions posed on later exams. All make-up exams will be given on the
date of the final exam.
2 WRITING
All assignments are due one week after assigned. The topics vary but may
ASSIGNMENTS: include journal articles with accompanying questions to be answered
(20%)
in their entirety. They must be typed, double-spaced, stapled, and have
your name included. Assignments must, of course, be only your own
work. See below: Sociology Department Academic Honesty Statement.
E-book
Quizzes:
(10%)
There will be a total of 10 quizzes covering material from various chapters
from our e-book. Each student is responsible for 8 out of the 10 e-book
quizzes. The best 8 of 10 quiz grades will be counted toward a student’s
average. These quizzes are found in our TRACS site under the
Assessments tab. The quizzes are timed, and therefore, it is necessary to
have thoroughly read, digested, and retained the material before attempting
a quiz. All e-book information is appropriate material for exam questions.
However, yellow and red instructor highlights indicate information that
more likely pertains to exam and course material. Red highlights are used to
indicate e-book quiz question material. E-book quizzes 1-6 are due no
later than 10/4; quizzes 7-10 are due no later than 11/22.
Attendance: Attendance will be taken daily. For every student absence past 3, the
student loses ten points (equivalent to exam points). To be “in
attendance,” a student must be in his or her seat no later than 10 minutes
after beginning of the class. In addition, students who sleep or use unrelated
course technologies (e.g. cell phones/lap tops) in class will be counted as
absent. Entering the classroom after the class has begun should be the
exception rather than the rule. If you need to leave class before it is over,
please notify the professor prior to the class-time. These are common rules
of courtesy and are appropriate in a civilized setting. Students who have
perfect attendance at the end of the semester will gain 10 points toward
their average (equivalent to exam points).
Missed
Exams:
Students who miss one of the first two exams, regardless of the reason,
make up the exam after the final exam.
Borderline Grades assigned to borderline scores (59, 69, 79, 89) at the end of
Scores:
the semester will resolve to the higher grade if the following criteria are met:
 The student has no more than one absence; and
 The student had actively participated in and contributed to class discussions
Semester Calendar:
Class
8/26
8/27
LECTURE
Introduction to course
Perspectives on the problem of Crime
READING ASSIGNMENT
Ch. 1
(Labor Day 9/2, no class)
9/4
Crime Data and Methods of Research
9/9
9/11
Individualistic Explanations of Criminal Behavior
9/16
9/18
Sociological Explanations of Criminal Behavior
9/23
9/25
The Conflict and Critical Perspective
9/30
Class, Race, Ethnicity, and Street Crime
10/2 (Quizzes 1-6 Due 10/4)
10/7
Exam 1
10/9
10/14
Gender and Crime
10/16
10/21
Sexual Violence
10/23
Ch. 2
Ch. 3
Ch. 4
Ch. 5
Ch. 8
EXAM 1
Ch. 9
Ch. 10
(last day to drop 10/24)
10/28
10/30
11/4
11/6
11/11
Corporate and Organized Crime
Ch. 6
Political and Governmental Crime
Ch. 7
Police and the Courts
Ch. 11
11/13
11/18
Punishment and Prisons
11/20 (Quizzes 7-10 Due 11/22)
11/25
Exam 2 (required video to follow)
Ch. 12
EXAM 2
(Thanksgiving 11/27-11/29, no class)
12/2
12/4
Drug War and Alternative Solutions
Ch. 13
(Course grades available 12/18)
12/12 FINAL EXAM: Wed. Dec. 11th 11:00-1:30 p.m. (Make-up exams to follow)
It is my intention to follow the above schedule as closely as possible. This schedule
is, however, subject to change. If it is necessary to change the date of a major
exam, I will notify you as far in advance as possible.
Discussion:
RUBRIC:
I do not consciously grade your class contribution, but classes are much
more interesting if people participate. I encourage spontaneous discussion
about the course material, sharing personal observations, and personal
experiences. The goal of class discussion is NOT to memorize the “one true
answer;” it is to try to pursue the different viewpoints about a particular
topic. You will probably not agree with everything you hear in class from
the professor or your classmates. Part of becoming educated requires that
you be challenged and that you think critically. This does not mean that
you change your mind or alter your viewpoint about something; rather, all
of us (college students and professors), you should be able to see different
points of view of the same issue. I expect all students to be respectful
towards every person in our classroom.
The papers are worth 100 points. Points will be awarded as indicated by this
rubric.
The Quality of the Analysis: (30 points each, 60 points total.)
Accuracy of the analysis: Does the paper accurately reflect issues
raised in the class or textbook readings?
Organization: Do ideas logically follow from preceding ideas? Is
the paper coherent?
The Mechanics of Writing: (10 points each, 40 points total)
Usage: Are words used correctly? Are platitudes and vague
phrasing avoided?
Paragraph structure: Is each paragraph organized with a topic
sentence and supporting sentences?
Grammar: Is correct grammar used?
Punctuation: Is correct punctuation used?
Extra Credit: Every week or two, at some point during class, I will choose a question
derived from current events that concern criminology. Questions are
designed to encourage students to stay abreast with recent social and
political developments communicated in the media. Correct answers are
worth 1 point of extra credit equivalent to exam points.
In addition, students who wish to conduct a criminological literature review
may do so for extra credit. Choose a topic that pertains to criminology,
have the topic approved by the instructor, and show that you have read,
evaluated, and comprehended the published research on the chosen topic.
The literature review will require you to locate published research and must
be cited correctly using the ASA format. Amount of extra credit earned
depends on the quality and depth of the work submitted. Deadline for
submission is 12/2.
Sociology Department Academic Honesty Statement: As members of the university community, students
are expected to be aware of and abide by university policies regarding academic honesty. By the same token,
members of the faculty within the university community are expected to enforce those policies. Members of
the Department of Sociology operate on the assumption that each student has thoroughly reviewed the
university policies regarding academic honesty and that the policies will be followed. Accordingly, members
of the Department of Sociology will enforce all policies related to academic honesty. The specific policy
statements in this regard are to be found at the following websites:
http://davinci.mrp.swt.edu/mrp/publications/studenthandbook/academicprocedures.html#academic (Texas
State Student Handbook)
http://www.swt.edu/effective/ups/upps-07-10-01.html (Academic Honesty, UPPS No. 07.10.01) Academic
dishonesty includes the following: Cheating, plagiarism, collusion and/or abuse of resource materials. Each
term or phrase is defined in some detail in the above referenced material. Ignorance of what constitutes
plagiarism or having plagiarized in the past without having been penalized does not excuse such acts in the
Department of Sociology. Any student charged with plagiarism may appeal in writing in accordance with
Texas State University policy.