CRM 187 A-Z - (IS) Special Topics in CriminologySemester Hours: 3
Fall, Spring
Interdisciplinary exploration of specific issues in the discipline of criminology — e.g., organized crime, forgery, juvenile courts, crimes against children, etc. Topics may change each semester.
Current Special Topics
CRM 187E - (IS) Gender & the Policed State
This class will explore how the epidemic of Mass Incarceration uniquely impacts Womxyn and the need for centering these marginalized narratives in our examination of the problem. Additionally, this course will explore and interrogate abolition as a radical Feminist project. Historically, Criminal Justice research and rhetoric has focused on the experiences of men, assuming that whatever interventions and policies are deemed beneficial to men will extend to womxn counterparts – data and research confirm that this has been a huge mistake. Yet, while Womxn today are the fastest-growing correctional population in the United States there is surprisingly little research on the causes of this trend. Exploring the impact of mass incarceration on Womxn through feminist frameworks and theories will lead the course to critique gender as a policed state and imagine alternatives to a patriarchal carceral system.
CRM 187I - (IS) Immigration and the Law
This course will provide students with the analytical tools to understand the dynamics driving the politics of the current wave of immigrants from the Caribbean, Latin America, Asia, and Africa, and the way it affects American society and culture. It will also focus on current and past legislation about immigration to the United States. Can the state control migration, including “unwanted” migrants? How do we understand the politics of immigration in the context of the criminalization of immigrants? In an era of uncertainty, how can we pursue policies that will ensure the security of our borders without closing off flows which are often considered necessary for our economic security? We begin with an examination of immigration law and policies in the United States that let some people in while keeping others out.
CRM 187S - (IS) Mass incarceration & LGBTQ+ Communities
Scholars have written extensively about the correlation between race, policing, and incarceration. Thought leaders in prison studies, such as Angela Davis, Ruth Wilson Gilmore, and Michelle Alexander, have used the abolitionist framework to argue that in the modern era, populations formerly controlled through slavery and colonization—namely, poor black and indigenous peoples—are now controlled through the prison system. Only in the past decade have academics begun to seriously take up the question of how gender identity, particularly for trans and gender-nonconforming people, and queer identity relate to the history and current landscape of Mass Incarceration and the Carceral State. This course aims to explore and analyze that question/issue.
Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
May be repeated for credit when topics vary. As individual subjects are offered, each is assigned a letter (A-Z) which is affixed to the course number. Students may take up to two (6 s.h.) of these courses in fulfillment of the electives requirement for their Criminology major or minor, so long as each special topics course has a different letter designation. Specific titles and course descriptions for special topics courses are available in the online class schedule.
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