The course traces America's response to crime from the Colonial Period to the present including how we are likely to respond to crime in the future. Course content will include shifting thoughts about the causes of crime and how these thoughts are themselves shaped by changes in American society including religion, economics, demographics, politics, and prevalent ideology. A major course theme will be the concept of net-widening. Net widening refers to the implementation of penal reforms as supplements rather than as alternatives to previous practices as officially intended. The end result of net widening is an expansion of the reach and clients of the penal system.Suggested Reading: American Penology : A History of Control Second Edition by Blomberg and Lucken.
Maximum Class Size: 30.
