SOC 215 - Survey of Criminology

Credits: 5
Covers the history and theory of what causes or contributes to crime, covering the major issues that confront the criminal justice system and studying the social organizations that create and enforce definitions of deviance and crime. Course is interdisciplinary in nature, working primarily from a sociological perspective, but including theories from biology, genetics, anthropology and psychology.

Prerequisite: Eligible for ENGL& 101 or instructor’s permission.

Satisfies Requirement: Social Science

Course Outcomes:
Students who successfully complete this class will be able to:

Analyze crime, deviance, and social control from various perspectives.
Identify the social forces that contribute to crime and deviance in American society.
Explain crime and deviance as social construct that contributes to differential justice, across racial and economic lines.

Program Outcomes

Demonstrate how inequality, privilege, and stratification are connected to course-specific content.

College-wide Outcomes

Critical Thinking - Critical thinking finds expression in all disciplines and everyday life. It is characterized by an ability to reflect upon thinking patterns, including the role of emotions on thoughts, and to rigorously assess the quality of thought through its work products. Critical thinkers routinely evaluate thinking processes and alter them, as necessary, to facilitate an improvement in their thinking and potentially foster certain dispositions or intellectual traits over time.
Responsibility - Responsibility encompasses those behaviors and dispositions necessary for students to be effective members of a community. This outcome is designed to help students recognize the value of a commitment to those responsibilities which will enable them to work successfully individually and with others.