SYLLABUS SOCI/CRJU/WMST 3336 Women, Crime, and the Criminal Justice System Dr. Allison Foley TR 11:00 12:50pm Allgood Hall N251 DR. FOLEY S CONTACT INFORMATION: ajfoley@gru.edu Allgood Hall Room N229 Office Hours: By Appointment 706-737-1735 (To leave message with sociology office) REQUIRED READING 1.) Belknap, Joanne. (2007). The Invisible Woman: Gender, Crime, and Justice (3rd ed.) 2.) Miller, Jody. (2001). One of the Guys: Girls, Gangs, and Gender. 3.) On occasion, additional readings will be assigned to supplement the text. These readings will be provided for you electronically and, when possible, in hard copy format. ACCESSING COURSE MATERIALS ONLINE Course materials will be posted online in Desire2Learn. You must have access to Desire2Learn for this course and you must check your university email every day. Always remember that ITS, and not me, handles issues with accessing email or Desire2Learn. However, if you cannot pull up a document once you re in the system, always try another browser or another computer, restart the computer, or update the computer s version of Adobe Reader before contacting me to receive it electronically via email. COURSE DESCRIPTION There are many ways to approach a topic such as Women, Crime, and Criminal Justice. You may be asking yourself why we are studying women in particular here. The answer to this question, in brief, is that the study of crime and criminal justice has, throughout history, focused overwhelmingly on males. To best understand women s experiences with crime and the criminal justice system, primarily as offenders and workers, we need to approach our study through a perspective that recognizes historical inequalities between men and women. This is why we will ground our studies in feminist criminology. This does not mean you need to identify as a feminist to take this course. Your views on feminism are your own; I hope only to show you that feminism is broader and more complex and complicated than most think. This also does not mean that the answer to the question of why women have been historically overlooked in criminology is, All men are worthless pigs! or something to that effect. That is not what feminism is don t let anyone tell you otherwise.
In reality, there are a number of possible explanations for this apparent oversight, just as there are a number of factors that different types of feminists identify causes of gender inequality. We will begin our course by briefly considering these topics and by defining both gender and feminism. We will then move to examine how gender shapes women s experiences with and/or in the criminal justice system specifically. We will focus on how women experience structural and cultural pressures and how their lives reflect a gendered world. This gendered world can be oppressive and victimizing it can restrict women s choices, suppress their desires, and/or operate in ways that allow them to become victims of violence and abuse but that does not mean that women are pure victims of their circumstances who are completely unable to choose their own actions and make their own rational decisions. As sociologists, we want to examine how social forces constrain the free will of individuals. This does not necessarily imply that women are always worse off than men, just as it does not imply that women always have it easier than men. We do not need to constantly pit women and men against one another either in or outside the classroom, as this encourages a less-than-productive battle of the sexes. To progress, we need to get beyond this. Besides, men have and do gender too; gender norms constrain the free will of men in particular ways as well. While there are similarities between men s and women s experiences with crime (which we will consider), there are many differences. Some of these differences are quite significant. Additionally, there are a number of other social forces (such as race, ethnicity, class, and sexuality) that shape the way each of us experiences the world. At times we will examine the intersections of gender, race, class, and/or sexuality because it is also important to recognize that women of different races/classes/ sexualities experience the world in different ways. Overall, though, the goal of this course is to develop an understanding of how women as a whole are impacted by a criminal justice system that was constructed by a patriarchal society characterized by gender inequality. One final comment: you should keep in mind that gender is actually a pretty sensitive topic for many people. The battle of the sexes I referred to earlier can play out in real life in ways that lead to heated debate. Given the sometimes-sensitive nature of the topics of this course, I want to encourage each of you to come into the classroom each day prepared to discuss the course material while being mindful that others in the classroom may be struggling with the material in even a small way. I say that not to stifle discussion, but to encourage you to think about what you say before you say it. There is a respectful, thoughtful way to express your opinion or to raise questions that some might interpret to be offensive. Respect is of upmost importance in this class! Review the next section of this syllabus for more on this and other classroom expectations. Learning Outcomes: Understand the historical and socio-cultural construction of gender and how it influences agency and disempowerment Understand the varieties of feminism and feminist activism and how they connect to feminist-criminological theory and scholarship. Explain how gender influences offending and careers in the criminal justice system Understand the debate about gender differences in offending, its causes and its consequences 2
GENERAL COURSE EXPECTATIONS 1. BE RESPECTFUL TO YOUR PROFESSOR AND TO YOUR FELLOW STUDENTS. We are all adults here and we ve been in school much of our lives, so you know the drill: Do not be disruptive when I am speaking or when other students are speaking no whispering, no side conversations, no speaking on top of another person. Disagree respectfully. Do not criticize or make hateful comments to anyone else in the classroom. Be prepared and on time to class. Stay alert and attentive until you are dismissed. If you leave early, you should always advise me of this beforehand. Try to keep bathroom breaks to an absolute minimum. Laptops in the back row only. Just put the cell phones away already. Consistent deviation from these policies will result in expulsion from the classroom. 2. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CLASS MATERIAL BY: Completing the Assigned Reading Before Class. I prefer an interactive classroom and like to ask questions. Some questions will be general and not specifically related to the course readings, but others will be based on the readings. If you don t complete the reading, it will be difficult for you to make positive contributions to our class discussions and your grade will suffer. Attending Class. I don t take attendance. There are many reasons for this. It should be sufficient here to state that I expect more from you than showing up. If you don t attend, you can t participate in discussion, complete in-class assignments, ask questions about the course material, or watch the films we watch in class, and your grade will suffer. Taking the Initiative to Obtain the Materials/Assignments You Missed if You Were Absent. It is YOUR responsibility to find out what you missed in class but it is not my responsibility to track you down if you miss in-class assignments. You must contact me, or another student, to find out what you missed and the best way to do this is to come to office hours. Lecture slides will be made available via WebCT, but I post slides primarily to assist you in your note taking. The slides are not a sufficient substitute for attendance. 3. DO YOUR OWN WORK AND DO NOT PLAGIARIZE! Plagiarism is defined as using the ideas or writings of another as one s own, according to the ASU student handbook. Plagiarism is also: Turning in a paper purchased or otherwise acquired from paper mills and the like. Turning in another student's work with or without that student's knowledge. Copying any part of your paper from a source without proper in-text citations. Paraphrasing materials from a source without proper in-text citations. Copying materials from a source text, supplying acknowledgement through in-text citations, BUT LEAVING OUT QUOTATION MARKS. If you plagiarize, regardless of whether it is two sentences or the entire paper, the minimum penalty will be to receive a ZERO on the assignment. This means that particularly egregious instances can be punished more severely, including receipt of an F for the course. Ignorance of what constitutes plagiarism (or citing ) is no excuse because it has 3
been clearly laid out in this syllabus. If this isn t clear enough, just come and see me PLEASE. It is YOUR responsibility to take whatever steps you must take to learn how to appropriately cite, quote, paraphrase and generally use your sources to demonstrate what you ve learned. AVOIDING PLAGIARISM (A.K.A. USEFUL WRITING TIPS): The goal of learning is not simply to regurgitate what other people had to say about something; in other words, cutting and pasting quotes or paraphrasing relevant passages isn t sufficient for the type of work expected of you in this class. I can tell you ve truly learned something when you re able to provide accurate illustrations of the ideas or concepts we discuss and when you demonstrate that you are able to make your own connections between the ideas/writings of two or more scholars, topics, theories, and/or concepts. You need to be able summarize what a scholar had to say and/or summarize what is known about a particular field/topic, but you usually need to bring your own voice and perspective into the assignment/paper as well. When you utilize a concept that another person came up with, however, you must cite that author using in-text citations so it is clear whose ideas are whose. This also allows you to demonstrate that you understand not just what a term/idea/theory/etc means but why it is important for understanding the larger topic at hand. For more information on this issue, there are examples of inappropriate writing and appropriate, original writing on the Sociology Department s website: http://www.aug.edu/sociology/plagiarism.html -- It is a good resource, so use it! You should also consult the Avoiding Plagiarism page on this website: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/ -- it also contains great information on how to citations, APA format, and grammar and punctuation, etc. In addition to the code of conduct outlined by me, you are required read and adhere to the mandates of the honor code as outlined in your student handbook (find it here: http://www.aug.edu/student_activities/docs/handbook.pdf). COURSE GRADING POLICIES LATE POLICY: 1.) If you do not complete a written assignment on time or if you are absent when an assignment is given, you MUST have a LEGITIMATE AND DOCUMENTED excuse to receive full credit. I do not give full credit without documentation. Period. Legitimate excuses include: illnesses, hospitalizations, religious holidays, universityrelated absences, becoming a victim of a crime, etc. Documentation would then be required from a doctor, religious leader, coach, boss, family member (or funeral program or announcement in the newspaper), law enforcement, etc. 2.) Unexcused late assignments will be subject to a deduction of half a letter grade per day of lateness. You may email me your completed late assignment upon completion AND THEN submit a hard copy. 3.) Late work is NOT accepted if it is over five days late (including weekend days) UNLESS you contacted me IN ADVANCE and we rescheduled the due date IN WRITING. 4
COMPONENTS OF YOUR GRADE: EXAMS: There will be a midterm and a final exam. Both are worth 50 points. They are largely multiple choice and true/false with a few open-ended, short essay questions. ANALYSIS PAPERS: (50pts) These points will be based on the timely and thoughtful completion of two out-of-class writing assignments that will be due at the end of the term. For this, you must choose two of the following three assignments. You can do two of one option, or one in one option and one in another. Both assignments should be typed using double-spacing and 12-point font with standard formatting. If you use quotations from the course readings, you must cite using in-text citations in APA format. Otherwise, it is fine to generally refer to the course readings by the author or to course films or inclass discussions and lectures by their title or content area, respectively. You do not need to hand in a reference page for options 1 or 2. You must do so for Option 3. o Option 1: Women s Work Assignment For this assignment, you will conduct an informal interview with a woman who works in the criminal justice system or in a very closely related field (i.e. she works with criminal offenders or victims in some capacity). You should anticipate the interview to last 45 minutes to an hour and it is important to stress to this person that the information gathered will only be used for a class assignment this is not research. Your goal is to get a sense from this person of (a) what their agency does, (b) what role they serve in that agency, and (c) how gender influences the work. To get at this last point, you could ask questions along the lines of As a woman, what kind of advice would you give to women who aspire to your career? How about for men? or How does gender influence your work? You can discuss gender as it relates to the gender of the offenders or victims and as it relates to the worker and her colleagues. You will draft your own set of interview questions AND PROVIDE ME WITH A COPY OF THEM with the assignment itself. For verification purposes, submit your notes of the interview along with the assignment. This will allow for the identity of the individual to be withheld if they would prefer to keep it that way. o Option 2: Media Analysis For this assignment, you are expected to spend an at least three hours exposed to media depictions of female offenders or workers. Take careful notice of the depictions of these women and the content of the media. This point here is not to summarize the media, but to critically analyze it. To do this, think and write about how the women are portrayed. What words are used to describe them? What are they shown doing? Are they portrayed as conforming or transcending gender roles? As being empowered or disempowered? Is their portrayal accurate, when compared to scholarly literature? These are just some examples of questions you can ask yourself and address in your writing. Therefore, for the assignment, describe the media, explain how it relates to course material, and discuss how it supplements or adds to course material. The assignments will be graded in a manner that places LESS weight on the description and MORE weight on the explanation of how it relates to and supplements course material. Again, summarizing a few of episodes of Snapped is not sufficient. Be thinking about whether the media depictions you re observing are accurate to real life, based on what our course material says, and whether the media 5
depicts the women in positive or negative, empowering or disempowering ways. Observe carefully, think critically, and support your arguments. o Option 3: Scholarly Article Review For this assignment, you will find a scholarly article or government publication on women as offenders or workers. In the assignment, describe the article in terms of its purpose and how the research was conducted if it is a presentation of research findings. You should also explain why you chose to investigate this particular aspect of women and crime and also explain how it relates to and supplements or adds to course material. Compare and contrast it to that course material. Part of your grade will be based on your explanation of how the article adds to course material, so choose carefully. One example and idea is to look for newer research on gang girls to compare to Jody Miller s slightly older research. Another idea is to make note of studies that Belknap discusses in her textbook that you find particularly interesting. You can then look up those studies in Belknap s references and find articles on that topic by the same author. CLASS ASSIGNMENTS AND ENGAGEMENT/PARTICIPATION: (50pts): o Assignments: There will be short reading quizzes and other assignments (such as reflections on readings or videos). These will be primarily over the Miller readings and other readings or videos (quizzes over the Belknap book are unlikely, though possible). I will drop the lowest two scores. o Engagement and Participation: Points will be awarded based on following the course expectations outlined earlier in this syllabus, the depth of reflection in written assignments, participating constructively in class discussions, and demonstrating engagement in the course electronically by forwarding me and/or your classmates relevant news stories and the like. In other words, you do not have to share your thoughts and questions in class in order to show that you are thinking about the course material and doing your readings. You can take time to write out your thoughts on some of the material and hand it in to me (this is essentially like doing extra reading reflection papers on your own time) and/or alert me to news stories or entertainment media that relate to our course. GRADING SCALE: A: 200 179 B: 178 159 C: 158 139 D: 138 119 F: 118 and lower Additionally, Incompletes will not be given to students who do not complete any coursework. It is your responsibility to initiate the proceedings to Withdraw I will not do this for you. After the deadline, per university policies, you will not be able to withdraw unless you have completed some coursework and unless you have extenuating circumstances. GRADE DISPUTES: Please keep all returned work in the event that you have a grade dispute at the end of the term. COURSE CALENDAR To Be Distributed 6