The following courses were designed specifically for the Criminology major. (Click here to learn about Assumption's extensive course offerings in sociology or here for information about the double major in sociology and criminology.)
CRM 242 CRIMINOLOGY
The course examines the patterns, causes, and consequences of crime, and the ways in which the criminal justice system attempts to deal with the crime problem in the United States. Specific substantive topics will include analyses of how laws are created; theories of crime causation; penology; the relationship between crime/criminal justice and social class, race/ethnicity and gender; fear of crime; the social construction of crime in the media; the growth of the prison system; and an assessment of the efficacy of alternative “crime-fighting” strategies, such as community policing.
CRM 243 JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
This course examines the history of “juvenile delinquency” as a societal category and as a social problem. While the main focus is on competing theories of delinquent behavior and the relative effectiveness of various policy responses to juvenile crime, the course will also focus extensively on media portrayals of juvenile criminals and the broader topic of the social construction of the juvenile crime problem. Specific topics include: decriminalization; deinstitutionalization; court diversion; radical nonintervention; community arbitration; and community-based corrections.
CRM 255 SELECTED TOPICS IN SOCIOLOGY
This course will permit the study of a selected topic within Criminology. The topic may change each time the course is offered.
CRM 272 DEVIANT BEHAVIOR
This course examines how particular acts, beliefs, and conditions come to be defined as deviant; who confers the label of “deviant” upon whom; and how a deviant identity is managed by those persons successfully labeled “deviant.” The main theoretical approach employed in this course, social constructionism, argues that deviant behavior cannot be understood in isolation from differentials in social power that permit some groups in society to define their lifestyles, beliefs, and status as superior and preferred. Specific topics to be covered include crime and delinquency; mental illness; drug and alcohol addiction; “alternative” lifestyles; the social organization of deviant subcultures; and elite deviance (white collar crime).
CRM 275 SOCIOLOGY OF LAW
This course examines the interrelationship between law and society by focusing on the “law in action” versus the law “on the books.” It will offer a broad introduction to the law as a social institution, and it will analyze how the law shapes the form and function of other key social institutions such as the family, the economy, and the state (politics). Specific substantive topics to be covered include: theories of legal creation; types of legal systems; theories of social control and punishment; how laws are used to effect social change (the controversy over “judicial activism”); how racial and class inequalities in society affect the creation and administration of law; and how the work of key theorists in the discipline of sociology (primarily Marx, Weber, and Durkheim) have contributed to the field. There will be less emphasis on the content of law (i.e., legal doctrine and case law) than on the study of how laws represent and shape core societal values.
CRM 325 VICTIMOLOGY
This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the complexity of criminal victimization from multiple perspectives: the victim’s, society’s, and the criminal justice and other response system’s. The course begins by exploring the nature and extent of the problem. Then, it moves on to explore theoretical frameworks used to explain criminal victimization. Next, it examines the consequences of victimization for victims, their loved ones, and society at large. The course concludes with a selection of special topics.
CRM 333 PRISONER REHABILITATION AND REENTRY
This course combines classroom and experiential community learning to examine prisoner rehabilitation and reentry programs in the United States. Students will gain an understanding of the reasons for and against prisoner rehabilitation, the various types of rehabilitation services which may be offered, and how rehabilitation and reentry programs have an effect on continuing crime rates in the country. This course also entails a critical analysis of how the availability of rehabilitation programs impacts families, communities, and the safety of society overall.
CRM 365–366 Internship Seminar I and II
This seminar provides interns with the opportunity to examine the internship experience along with other student interns. Students also examine related issues: social policy development; program planning, evaluation, and research; the social scientist’s responsibilities for the use of her or his research; the political role of the social scientist; the “value-free” debate among social scientists; applied versus pure sociology; the role of the social scientist within private and public organizations; management of human service agencies; and career options for social scientists.
Nichole RebeloCriminology and Sociology '16Internship: Intern at the Worcester District Attorney's Office, Child Advocacy Center
Mike HroncichSociology with a concentration in Criminology '16Internship: Intern at the Worcester District Attorney's Office
Lauren McCarthyCriminology '16Internship: Administrative Clerk with the Litigation Attorney's Office
Kimberly UrenaCriminology '16Internship: Intern with the Assumption College Campus Police and Assumption College Campus Advocate
Gregory GibsonCriminology '16Internship: Residential Caseworker at The Key Program
Christina CairaCriminology '16Internship: Staff Intern at the Worcester Public Counsel, Youth Advocacy Division
