SOC 380 - Sociology of Race, Crime and Justice

1. Analyze how race, gender, and social class influence how various groups intersect with the U.S. criminal justice system, and demonstrate an understanding of the differential experiences and impacts of the system on individuals and communities in relationship to these factors.
2. Gain knowledge and insight about the U.S. prison system and criminal justice practices from the perspective both of incarcerated individuals and those advocating for criminal justice reforms and alternatives to the existing policies and system.
3. Compare “blue collar crime” and “white collar crime” and how each group intersects with the criminal justice system, to formulate a race and class-based critique.
4. Understand social processes through which the mass media and political discourses shape public opinion about crime, and in turn influence state and federal crime legislation, to explore the relationship between crime-control and racial and social control in analyzing structures of oppression in the U.S..
5. Write an evidence-based paper on an aspect of crime theory, criminal law or practices covered in the course, including evidence-based alternatives to criminalization.
6. Work in groups to analyze aspects of criminal punishment in the U.S. and its effects on various cultural and socioeconomic groups, and present findings to the class.

1. Analyze how power and social identity affect social outcomes for different cultural and economic groups using methods of social science inquiry and vocabulary appropriate to those methods.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of and ability to apply accurately disciplinary concepts of the social or behavioral sciences.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of and the ability to effectively plan or conduct research using an appropriate method of the social or behavioral sciences.

1. Describe the histories, experiences or views of one or more cultural groups. 
2. Analyze the overlap or intersection of social identities of oneself and/or other cultural groups (e.g., culture, gender, class, sexuality, religion, disability, immigration status, and/or age). 
3. Examine the impact of their own identity on their experiences with and/or views of other cultural groups