SYA Crime and Society Credit Hours: 3 M W 3:35pm 4:50pm BEL 23 Fall 2010

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1 SYA Crime and Society Credit Hours: 3 M W 3:35pm 4:50pm BEL 23 Fall 2010 Instructor: Lori Moore Office: 510 BELLAMY Office Hrs: W 2:00pm 3:20pm or by appointment Tel. # (best way to contact me): LDM2624@.fsu.edu COURSE DESCRIPTION This course provides an introduction to the study of deviant behavior and the juvenile and criminal justice systems. Sociology is a scientific way to measure social behavior and the effects that society has on groups of individuals and criminology is the study of criminal behavior and law enforcement. Throughout the semester we will be using a sociological lens to examine deviant behavior, crime, and punishment in the United States, including theories of deviant and criminal behavior, the criminal and juvenile justice systems, and what happens to offenders once they are released back into the community. COURSE GOALS Students will gain a new understanding of deviance, crime, and punishment. Students will learn how to identify and apply theories from criminology and sociology to deviance and penology primarily through lectures, readings, short papers, discussion board assignments and tests. In the process students will also develop their critical thinking skills. COURSE OBJECTIVES By the end of the course you will: 1) Develop critical thinking skills by using and applying criminological and sociological theories to deviant behavior. 2) Develop critical thinking skills by critically assessing crime theories. 3) Understand juvenile and adult law-violating behavior and criminal and juvenile justice processes. 4) Have a better understanding of how social inequality operates in the criminal and juvenile justice systems. REQUIRED MATERIALS 1) L. Thomas Winfree, Jr. and Howard Abadinsky Understanding Crime: Essentials of Criminological Theory, Third Edition. Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. ISBN This text is available at Bill s and the FSU Bookstore. 2) Bruce Western Punishment and Inequality in America. Russell Sage Foundation. ISBN This text is available at Bill s and the FSU Bookstore. 3) Additional readings for specific topics (described in the Course Outline) will be posted on Blackboard. COPYRIGHT STATEMENT Some of the materials in this course are possibly copyrighted. They are intended for use only by students registered and enrolled in this course and only for instructional activities associated with and for the duration of the course. They may not be retained in another medium or disseminated further. They are provided in compliance with the provisions of the Teach Act.

2 BLACKBOARD AND COURSE The course website is listed on campus.fsu.edu. If you have not already registered with ACNS, you will not be able to access Bb nor receive class . Please register (if you have not already done so) at Check your regularly at COURSE REQUIREMENTS Reading Assignments: Students are expected to have active and constructive class participation. Readings should be done before class and everyone is expected to participate in class discussions. To help facilitate learning when doing the readings, I suggest that you 1) make a summary of what you read, 2) write down and bring any questions that you have about the material, and 3) ask for clarification during class (this will not only provide help to you, but other students who probably have the same questions). Board Assignments: At three points in the semester, a discussion topic will be posted on Blackboard. Each discussion board assignment is worth 10 points of the final grade. Each student will be expected to post a 150 word response to the discussion topic by 11:59 the day the initial posts are due and then post two 75 word replies to other students responses by 11:59 the day that the responses are due. Based on the quality of your posts, you can earn a possible ten points for your contribution to each discussion. No credit will be given for late postings on the discussion board or for flaming and other inappropriate responses. Short Paper Assignments: The first paper will ask you to write an essay about why you believe criminals offend and the other two will ask you to write about a controversial topic or issue regarding crime and society. Each short paper is worth 10 points. Papers must be submitted to the digital dropbox in BlackBoard by the date that they are due. I will provide you with an assignment sheet before each paper is due. Be sure to cite any sources that you use and put direct quotations in parentheses. Any form of plagiarism will not be tolerated! No credit will be given for late papers. Exams: There will be three in-class examinations and a final in-class examination. Each exam is worth of the final grade. Each exam will cover the material before the exam date. The final exam is not cumulative. The exams will include the lectures, readings, videos and class discussions covered. Exams will contain multiple-choice questions and true/false questions. You MAY NOT wear hats nor have cell phones or texting devices out during the exams. See the Academic Honor Code and Academic Dishonesty sections of the syllabus for more information.

3 Evaluation: Exam 1 Exam 2 Exam 3 Exam 4 Boards (3 total) Short Papers (3 total) Total= 30 points 30 points 260 points To convert your final score to a letter grade, I will first divide your final score by 260 and then multiply by 100 to get a percentage. This percentage will correspond to a letter grade according to the following grade scale: Grading Scale: A A B B B C C C D D F <60 ESSENTIAL POLICY INFORMATION Attendance: Although attendance is not part of the final grade, students should attend every class and to be on time. See Makeup Exams section below for more information. Excused Absences: The following AND only the following absences are eligible to be excused: - Religious holidays specified by FSU administrators - Representing FSU at official functions, including intercollegiate debating or varsity sports events - Legitimate emergencies - Legitimate medical illnesses requiring continued treatment by medical practitioners because of its seriousness. If you have a chronic illness that could affect your attendance, let me know at the beginning of class. In order to excuse an absence you need to present documentation about the reason for your absence, such as, copy of obituary, doctor s note legitimating the seriousness of illness and need for continued treatment, court hearing date, or police citation. Please note that you are responsible for any material that you missed during your absence.

4 Makeup Exams: Makeup exams will be given ONLY with a legitimate, documented excuse. Contact me as soon as possible so that we can make arrangements for a makeup. Note that the makeup exam may have a different format and/or questions than the original. Student Conduct: Please see the following website for student codes of conduct. You are expected to treat your classmates and instructor with respect. Not doing so could result in a reduction in your grade or dismissal from the course. Academic Honor Code: Students are expected to uphold the Academic Honor Code published in the Florida State University Bulletin and the Student Handbook. The Academic Honor of The Florida State University is based on the premise that each student has the responsibility (1) to uphold the highest standards of academic integrity in the student's own work, (2) to refuse to tolerate violations of academic integrity in the university community, and (3) to foster a high sense of integrity and social responsibility on the part of the university community. Please see the following website for a complete explanation: Academic Dishonesty: Students must abide by the highest standards of academic integrity. Any form of academic dishonesty will result in a zero for that particular assignment or an F for the course, at the instructor s discretion. Any student who plagiarizes, cheats on exams, or otherwise behaves in a dishonest way may be reported to the University Judicial Office for official adjudication. Please see the following website for a complete explanation: Students with Disabilities: Students with disabilities needing academic accommodation should: (1) register with and provide documentation to the Student Disability Resource Center; (2) bring me a letter indicating the need for accommodation and what type. This should be done during the first week of class. Please feel free to see me in case of any problems or concerns and I will be only happy to help! For more information about services available to FSU students with disabilities contact: Student Disability Resource Center, Dean of Students, 08 Kellum Hall Florida State University, Tallahassee, Fl , (850) (voice), (850) (TDD), SDRC@admin.fsu.edu, Incomplete Grades: Missing work or uncompleted assignments are not sufficient reasons for requesting an incomplete Grade. A grade of Incomplete is given only under extenuating circumstances at the instructor s discretion. Note that College of Social Sciences guidelines require that students seeking an I must be passing the course.

5 SYLLABUS CHANGE POLICY Except for changes that substantially affect implementation of the evaluation (grading) statement, this syllabus is a guide for the course and is subject to change with advance notice. Semester Calendar Topic 8/23 Introduction to the Course 8/25 Introduction to the Study of Crime 8/30 Introduction to Theory and the Study of Crime 9/1 Deterrence and Opportunity 9/6 No Class- Labor Day 9/8 Social Learning and Control 9/13 Labeling Theory Exams/Short Papers / Board Short Paper 1 Due in Digital Dropbox by Board 1 Initial Post Due by Board 1 Replies Due by Reading Assignments Chapter 1 pp in Understanding Crime text Crime Decline in Context (Posted on Chapter 2 pp in Understanding Crime text The Causes and Correlates Studies: Findings and Policy Implications Chapter 7 pp in Understanding Crime text The Theory of Differential Association (Posted on Chapter 8 pp in Understanding Crime text Deviance, Labeling and Reintegrative Shaming (Posted on 9/15 Labeling Theory 9/20 Anomie and Subculture The Saints and the Roughnecks (Posted on The Mark of a Criminal Record (Posted on Chapter 6 pp in Understanding Crime text The Code of the Streets (Posted on 9/22 Anomie and Subculture 9/27 Exam 1 9/29 Conflict Self-Injurers (Posted on Real Punks and Pretenders: The Social Organization of a Counterculture (Posted on Chapter 9 pp in Understanding Crime text A Radical Conception of Crime and Deviance (Posted on

6 10/4 Marxist and Critical 10/6 White-Collar Crime 10/11 Gender, Race, and Crime Board 2 Initial Post Due by Board 2 Replies Due by Chapter 10 pp in Understanding Crime text Fraud and the American Dream (Posted on Corporate Deviance (Posted on Doctor-Assisted Suicide (Posted on Chapter 11 pp in Understanding Crime text Is Violence Against Women About Women or About Violence? (Posted on Gender, Crime, and Deviance (Posted on 10/13 Gender, Race, and Crime Short Paper 2 Due in Digital Dropbox by The Police and the Black Male (Posted on Hate Crimes: The Rising Tide of Bigotry and Bloodshed (Posted on Racial Hoaxes: Applied Critical Race Theory Poverty, Inequality, and Youth Violence (Posted on 10/18 Exam 2 10/20 Police Can the Police be Reformed? (Posted on Police Corruption (Posted on There Outta Be a Law Against Bitches : Masculinity Lessons in Police Training (Posted on 10/25 Criminal Driving While Black (Posted on The War on Crime as Hegemonic Strategy: A Neo- Marxian Theory of the New Punitiveness in U.S. Criminal Policy Race, Class, and Gender in Female Sentencing: An Ethnographic Perspective (Posted on 10/27 Criminal 11/01 Criminal Life on Death Row (Posted on Introduction and Chapter 1 in Punishment and Inequality in America text Chapters 2 and 3 in Punishment and Inequality in America text

7 11/03 Criminal 11/08 Criminal 11/10 Exam 3 11/15 Juvenile 11/17 Juvenile 11/22 Juvenile 11/24 Offenders Reentering the Community Board 3 Initial Posts Due by Board 3 Replies Due by Chapters 4 and 7 in Punishment and Inequality in America text Chapters 6 and 7 in Punishment and Inequality in America text Chapters 1 and 2 from American Juvenile (Posted on Chapters 5 and 10 from American Juvenile (Posted on Criers, Liars, and Manipulators (Posted on No Real Release (Posted on Chapters 5 and 6 in Punishment and Inequality in America 11/29 Offenders Reentering the Community 12/01 Course Conclusion 12/6 Final Exam 5:30-7:30pm in Bel 23 Short Paper 3 Due in Digital Dropbox by Final Exam TBA