Course
Listing
Note:
The program will accept a maximum of nine (9) transfer credit hours
in Justice Studies or Criminal Justice or Criminology from other colleges
and/or universities toward the major and three (3) credit hours towards
the minor, subject to approval of Chair/Coordinator.
View
brief descriptions of the courses we offer, click by level.
Select a Section:
100
200
300
Course
Offerings
100 Series
(Back to The Top)
JUST
100: Introduction to Social Justice
JUST
105: Intorduction to Justice Studies
Introductory overview to the study of justice from a social science
perspective. Primary topics include justice theories and justice
research. Not open to students with credit in JUS 305. This
course is appropriate for freshmen and sophomores.
200 Series (Back to the top)
JUST
201 Introduction to the Criminal
Justice System, 3 cr. Overview of police, court, and prison
practice with attention to class, race, and sex discrimination in the
criminal justice systems. Emphasis on the relationship between crime
and key political and economic structures.
JUST-202
Justice and Inequality 3 cr. Analysis of race, class, gender, and
related inequalities in the context of plolitical economy in the United
States. also focuses on consequent biases in criminal justice and the
intersectional nature of discrimination in the delivery of justice.
Includes indentifying strategies for reducing these injustices. Prereq:
JUST 101 or consent of Instructor.
JUST-241
Skills for Inquiry 1 3 cr. Development of analytic and writing skills.
Introduction to the methodology of the social sciences. Students develop
research designs and initiate studies on justice studies topics Should
be taken immediately after JUST 101 or JUST 201. Prereq: JUST-101
300 Series (Back to the top)
JUST-310
Theories of Justice and Social Change, 3 cr Explores
genral theories of social change such as social evolutionism and historical
materialism, and the realtionship between social change and the pursuit
of justice. The starting point is unjust social structures and processes,
leading into analysis of how social change occurs, especially through
social movements. Prereq: JUST 101, and JUST 202 or consent of Instructor.
JUST-309
Portrayal of Crime in the Media, 3 cr. Analysis of
the media's presentation of crime in the 20th century with attention
to the historical development of the portrayal of crime and its effect
on the public attitudes regarding "crime" and the "criminal." Various
forms of the media are individually considered, most notably television,
film and newspaper.
JUST-311
Women, Crime, and the Criminal Justice System, 3 cr.
The position of women in society; theories of female criminality; crimes
committed by and against women such as prostitution, rape, woman abuse,
and forced sterilization. Treatment of women by various social and criminal
justice agencies.
JUST-312
Theories of Criminal Behavior, 3 cr. Historic overview
of theories of crime from classical school to currently popular viewpoints
including Marxist and radical theories with emphasis on the relationship
between theory and criminal justice policy formulation. Prereq.: CRJU-201.
JUST-313
Prisons and Jails, 3 cr. Study of the historic development
of prisons focusing on current practice and emphasizing consequences
of expanding the prison population and community based alternatives
to incarceration. Field trips.
JUST-314
Police in the Minority Community, 3 cr. Overview of
the social, political and economic consequences resulting from historical
and contemporary treatment of U.S. minorities by law enforcement personnel
with emphasis on the development of policy focusing on police methodology
in controlling and creating levels of crime within urban areas. Theoretical
and practical issues involving bias, discretion and excessive force.
JUS-315
Proseminar in Justice Studies, 3 cr. Intensive exploration
of topics of interest to justice studies. Consult the Schedule of Classes
for specific topics.
JUST-316
Crime, Violence, and Culture, 3 cr. Exploration of
interpersonal and structural violence and aspects of culture that promote
it. The course considers: the criminalization of some and tolerance
of other violence; competing theories of violence; and strategies for
reducing and preventing violence.
JUST-320
Independent Study in Criminal Justice, 3 cr. Individual
investigation into a topic of the student's choice. Prereq.: consent
of instructor.
JUST-321
Violence Against Women, 3 cr. Overview of the legal,
sociological, psychological, and medical aspects of rape, battering
and related forms of gendered violence. Explores social and cultural
context of violence against women, changing definitions of violence,
and the criminalization of sexual assault and family violence, and responses
to violence, including the anti-rape and battered women's movements.
JUST-322
Women, Justice & the Law, 3 cr. A discussion of
justice and its intersection with gender. The course focuses on federal
statutes and their interpretation, on sexual harassment and employment,
and state statutes focusing on family law and criminal law.
JUST-324
Women as Political Prisoners, 3 cr. This course examines
the three areas in which women can be defined as political prisoners:
1) women imprisoned for political acts; 2) women imprisoned for self-defense
measures; 3) women imprisoned for petty 'economic' crimes such as prosititution.
JUST-325
Women and Revolution: Theories of Justice, 3 cr. Theories
of justice informing revolutionary practice with attention to the role
played by women in revolution, especially in liberation struggles in
Central America. Prereq.: A women's studies course.
JUST-326
Juvenile Justice System, 3 cr. Socio-economic analysis
of the history of the juvenile justice system in an effort to understand
the functions and whom it serves.
JUST-327
Immigration Policy and Human Rights Violation in Central America,
3 cr. Immigration and Naturalization Service policy toward
Latin America, Haitian, and other third world refugees and the relationship
between that policy U.S. support of repressive regimes.
JUST-329
Politics of Punishment, 3 cr. Exploration, from a global perspective
of the history, development, and philosophies of punishment and of the
debate within the United States and the countries of Western Europe
over the purpose of correctional institutions.
JUST-330
Legal Research and Bibliography in Criminal Law, 3 cr.
Study of basic reference and source materials. Visits to law libraries
are required. Presentation of a written and oral argument.
JUST-331
Law and Racism in America, 3 cr. The nature of racism,
its essential features and their relationship to the legal, social,
and economic practices in the United States. Prereq.: CRJU-201.
JUST-333
Community Law, 3 cr. General introduction to the impact
of law on the public: consumer law, family law, and individual rights.
JUST-334
Criminal Law and Procedure, 3 cr. The basic principles
of American criminal law, current issues and controversies surrounding
the criminal justice process, and the constitutional rights of the accused.
Prereq.: CRJU-201.
JUST-335
Legal Process, 3 cr. Analysis of common law and the
role of precedent with emphasis on appellate courts, particularly the
U.S. Supreme Court.
JUST-337
Workers' Rights and Human Rights, 3 cr. Basic labor
law: workman's compensation, unemployment compensation, National Labor
Relations Act, etc., discussions on worker influence on factories.
JUST-339
Tenants Rights Clinic, 3 cr. Under the supervision
of a licensed attorney, students study issues relating to landlord /
tenant disputes and conflicts. Students are trained to define and negotiate
such problems.
JUST-342
Skills for Inquiry in the Criminal Justice System II, 3 cr.
Continuation of JUST-241.
JUST-345
Practicum in Criminal Justice, 3 cr. Specific skills
necessary for entry level agency / community work. Prereq.: Consent
of chairperson. Taken in junior year.
JUST-350
Field Work Seminar, 6 cr. Application of the specific
skills learned in the practicum, as well as other classroom theories
and concepts, in an agency / community setting. Two- hundred volunteer
hours at work in the field and a 1 ½ hour weekly seminar. Prereq.:
completion of all major requirements and consent of chairperson.