Minor in Sociology with a concentration in Criminology

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 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 is an experiential seminar. Students learn about the criminal justice system through a combination of weekly field trips, discussions with guest lecturers, and classroom discussions. Highly recommended as a first course in criminology for students who are considering working in the criminal justice system, as well as for students who would just like an insider''s view of police departments, courts, and correctional institutions in the United States.

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.