Minor in Criminal Justice

This course is designed to introduce students to the study of crime and criminal justice policy. Students will examine the issues involved in defining and measuring crime, the correlates of crime, crime trends, early and contemporary theories of criminal behavior, and the application of theories in criminal justice practice and policies.

The course will examine each of the different parts of the American criminal justice system (policing, courts, and corrections), the procedural laws governing the system, and the ways the various parts of the system are interrelated and interdependent. The interaction between the Deaf community and the criminal justice system will be used as a special case, and students will learn about their rights as deaf individuals and how to protect those rights.

This course is a historical and contemporary examination of the role and behavior of law enforcement and policing in the U.S. It is a comprehensive introduction to policing including its historical evolution, recruiting, community policing, and use of force perspectives. The course covers the various policing agencies at the local, state, and federal levels. This course will examine police and law enforcement as a formal, institutional structure of social control that is a product of historical development as well as cultural, social, and political influences.

An overview of the U.S. corrections system with a focus on the most pressing correctional problems of the twenty-first century. Emphasis will be on the philosophy of punishment, the nature of the prison experience, alternatives to incarceration, judicial intervention in correctional affairs and the controversy over the effectiveness of rehabilitation programs. This class will provide students with a review of contemporary institutional and community-based correctional systems including jails, prisons, probation, parole, and alternative sanctioning. The course will examine how punishment justifications impact the policy and procedures in the correctional system. Specific attention is given to identification of evidence-based practices and programs in all aspects of the corrections system. This course will also examine how political power, dominance, and bias create a corrections system that disproportionately impacts different groups and subgroups of people (based on race, class, gender, sexual identity and more).

This course will provide an in-depth analysis of the Bill of Rights, as interpreted by the Supreme Court. Current controversies, such as the conflict between privacy and national security, abortion rights and the death penalty will be examined in more depth

This course investigates the chemical aspects and applications of forensics studies. The lecture and the laboratory provide a means to develop skills in the following areas: soil analysis and organic analysis, fingerprint analysis and foot print analysis, hair analysis, fiber analysis, physical evidence evaluation, document examination, forensic anthropology, forensic toxicology and drug analysis.

Students will learn the basics of the legal system including vocabulary, processes and roles of key personnel. Students will learn how to develop opening and closing statements, how to question witnesses on direct and cross examination, how to introduce evidence, impeach testimony and how to object. Students will apply what they learn as part of a team that participates in a mock trial.

The diverse beliefs of nations and classes, world divisions, and the racial rivalry reflected in various systems of law and politics all give changing meaning to such phrases as human rights and fundamental freedoms. This course will look at these rights and freedoms within the different belief systems, world divisions, and racial rivalries. Special attention will be given to the deaf communities in United States and their struggle to achieve full human rights and freedom.

A critical study of the major theories justifying the punishment of criminals, including retributivism, consequentialism, and hybrid and alternative approaches. Arguments about the appropriateness of certain punishments, such as the death penalty and felon disenfranchisement, will also be considered. Emphasis will be on analysis and evaluation of complex texts and on ethical debate.

This course serves as an introduction to psychopathology in adults and children. Students will be introduced to the classification used by psychologists, the Diagnostic Statistical Manual. Disorders such as anxiety disorders, mood disorders, schizophrenia, cognitive disorders, personality disorders and sexual and gender dysphoria will be covered. Historical background, causes, and some treatment approaches will also be included.

This course examines the social construction of deviance. That is, it examines how society makes rules for behavior, how those rules change over time, and who tends to benefit (and who tends to be limited) because of society's rules. The question of whether deviance is ''good'' or ''bad'' for society will also be examined. Finally, the course will consider what happens to people who break society's rules, both in terms of how society views rule-breakers and how they view themselves.

This course examines how society treats young people who break the law, the social causes of juvenile delinquency, and rates of juvenile delinquency.

This course will examine a specific issue that poses current problems in the criminal justice system. Examples include: the exploding prison population, the challenges of policing post-9/11, and deaf people in the criminal justice system. This course may be repeated as topics change.

A study of gender and social class inequality. The course emphasizes theoretical and conceptual issues related to inequality, characteristics of various social stratification systems, and minority group responses to social inequality.

This course provides students an opportunity for examination of personal attitudes, stereotypes, biases, and misconceptions that affect ethnic-competent professional practice. Attention is given to increasing students' knowledge, understanding, appreciation, and sensitivity to diversity, oppression, and racism, and the implications of each for social work and other human services. While the course addresses the cognitive and conceptual aspects of learning, primary emphasis is on the affective process. In addition to learning about racism, discrimination, power/powerlessness, and ethnocentrism, students participate in experiential groups and role play. These exercises provide opportunities to explore new ways of thinking, feeling, and responding to people who experience discrimination or oppression because of their race, ethnic background, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation, or because they are deaf or hard of hearing.