Crime and Punishment in Urban America

This course provides students with an urban based concentration in the study of the causes and effects of the convergence of mass incarceration, mass unemployment and mass disenfranchisement in inner-city communities. Particular emphasis will be on the perspective of urban communities most impacted by these phenomena, with a focus on the structural impediments which challenge the notion of re-entry (redefined as nu-entry) for thousands of individuals each year. Central to the course will be the study and examination of urban social trends that relate to increases and decreases in crime during different periods. Further, the course explores the impact of these phenomena on the large numbers of men and women returning to urban neighborhoods from incarceration. The course will be dedicated to discussing community based problem solving approaches. The course adopts the position of viewing our local community, region, country and world as a laboratory for analyzing issues related to crime and punishment. It uses a non-traditional approach to provide opportunities to explore the myriad of problems inherent in the transfer of huge numbers of people from incar

Fall, Spring

029851