2019-2020 Graduate Catalog 
    
    Nov 24, 2024  
2019-2020 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

CRJC 520 - Criminological Theory I: Classical and Positivist Theorists


Credit Hours: 3
Lecture Hours: 3
Lab Hours: 0

This course begins with a survey of the history and application of criminological thought, providing a foundation for analysis of the assumptions, elements and policy implications of theories of crime and criminal justice. As the first of two graduate theory seminars, this course focuses on theories within two major paradigms in criminological theory: Classical and Positivist Criminology. We explore the perspectives on crime and criminal justice that permeate public discourse on crime and justice and critique the formal criminological theories to which these everyday perspectives are linked. We consider whether existing research provides support for widely accepted theories and we examine the criminal justice policies associated with different criminological theories. Students are guided in the process of formulating their own research questions and policy proposals from the criminological theories that they find most compelling.