CRJU 504 - Seminar: Crime, Justice and Society

(3 credits)
Prerequisite: CRJU 500, which may be taken concurrently
This seminar examines crime and criminal justice policies within a social justice framework to facilitate a critical analysis of the U.S. criminal legal system including 1) political processes 2) law enforcement 3) judicial processes and the courts and 4) punishment and incarceration. Specifically, this class will examine the underlying social foundations of the criminal legal system and the resulting consequences of this history on current policy and practices of the system. A critical analysis of historical and contemporary practices with regard to citizenship, race, ethnicity, gender, and class structures will be applied in this class and will provide an understanding of how the criminal legal system has evolved over time with disparate impacts and outcomes, and how this affects communities today.