Sociology 49S.01 
Crime and Society
Spring 2001
Dr. Williams

Go to Course Requirements                                                                                                                         

               DATE

TOPIC

READINGS
     

Jan.

  

11

  

Introduction

    
             
 

16

18

  

Crime Problems, Crime Policy

WA Foreword, Preface, 1-4

  
             
 

23

25

  

Dealing With Crime – The Conservative View

WA 5-8

  
             
 

30

    

Dealing With Crime – The Liberal View

WA 11-12

  
             

Feb.

  

  1*

  

Dealing With Crime – The Drug Problem

WA 13-14

  
             
 

  6

  8

  

Thinking About Crime – An Alternative View

RE Preface, Introduction, 1-2

  
             
 

13

    

Thinking About Crime – An Alternative View

RE 3-4, Conclusion

  
             
   

15

  

EXAMINATION I

    
             
 

20

22

  

Criminals on Crime

CR 1-3, 5, 13-14

  
             
 

27

    

Criminals on Crime

CR 15-17, 8-9

  
             

Mar.

  

  1*

  

Growing Up in the ‘Hood

CA 1-25

  
           
 

  6

  8

  

When Work Disappears

WI 1-4
     

SPRING RECESS

    
     
 

20

22

  

The Social Policy Challenge

WI 5-8

  
             
 

27

    

The “Cool Pose” Adaptation

MA 1-9

  
             
   

29*

  

EXAMINATION II

    
             

Apr.

  3

  5

  

Crime and Neighborhood Decay

SK 1-4

  
             
 

10#

12#

  

Dealing with Neighborhood Decay

SK 5-7

  
             
 

17#

19

  

Crime Profiles

MM 1-4

  
             
 

24

    

More Crime Profiles

MM 5, 8-9

  
             

Texts:  r CA = Canada. fist stick knife gun. 1995.  r CR = Cromwell. In Their Own Words. 1999.

r MB = Majors and Billson. Cool Pose. 1992.  r MM = Miethe and McCorkle. Crime Profiles. 1998. 

r RE = Reiman. The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison. 2001.  r SK = Skogan. Disorder and Decline. 1990.  r WA = Walker. Sense and Nonsense about Crime and Drugs. 2001.  r WI = Wilson. When Work Disappears. 1996.    & On Reserve, West: Inciardi. Criminal Justice. 1999.

Office: 259 Soc-Psych Bldg.  Office hours: TTh 2:00-3:30pm and by appointment.

E-mail: jwms@soc.duke.edu  Office phone and voice mail:  660-5650

Grade weights: Class participation – 13%; Papers (3) – 36%; Take-home exams (2) – 26%; Presentation – 4%;

                          Final paper – 21%

Paper due dates are marked by an (*).  Class presentation dates are marked by a (#).

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Class participation: This class is a seminar. I will do some lecturing but most of each class session will be devoted to a
discussion of the assigned reading material. Everyone is expected to contribute to these discussions and 13% of your final grade
will be based on your contributions during class.

Do not consider these discussions a competitive event but rather a cooperative learning effort. A good question is as valuable as a
good answer or an insightful comment. Your group effort to deal with the issues we are examining in the seminar typically will
provide a higher yield for understanding than will an individual effort. Be supportive of one another, be tolerant of diverse
viewpoints, and use constructive criticism. Above all, be intellectually curious.

Papers: Three 4-5 page papers will be submitted during the course. Due dates for these papers are marked by an asterisk (*) on
your syllabus. The topic for each paper will be announced two weeks prior to the due date. The 4-5 page limitation refers to the
text of the paper – endnotes and references are additional.

Take-home exams: There will be two take-home examinations. The first will be distributed at the end of class on February 15.
The exam is due at the next class on February 20. The second examination will be given to you on March 29. It is due at the next
class on April 3. You may use your class notes, readings, and other resources for the exam, but your answers on the exam are to
be entirely your own.

Class presentation: In preparation for your final paper in the course, you will make a presentation of ten minutes to the class
describing your final paper in detail. The class will ask questions and make comments for the purpose of helping you improve your
final paper. Five class members will present per class. Three class periods are reserved for this activity. These class dates are
indicated on your syllabus by a pound sign (#). You may volunteer for a date to present and if you don’t volunteer, a date will be
assigned.

Final paper: You will write a 10-12 page final paper which addresses crime in general, a specific crime problem, and/or the
criminal justice system’s (police, courts, corrections, and/or juvenile justice) role in crime. You will discuss the nature of the crime,
the probable causes of the crime [if known], and past attempts to control the crime. If you choose the criminal justice system, for
example, you will discuss how it may contribute to crime, fail to combat crime, or more effectively control crime. You will then
describe what you believe to be, based on the relevant literature, a fresh and appropriate proposal for addressing your chosen
crime/criminal justice system issue. You will also discuss the policy implications for the implementation of your proposal.

In the January 1998 issue of Crime and Delinquency, then New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman said:

We can reduce crime. We can punish smarter. We can

rehabilitate better and more efficiently. We can bring

balance to criminal justice.

Assume that you are the Director of the New Jersey Crime Commission and Governor Whitman has asked you to advise her on a
strategy to make her words ring true. Your final paper will be that product.