LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS

CRJU - C700-081, Theories of Criminal Behavior

Fall 2002


Instructor: Dee Wood Harper

E-mail: harper@loyno.edu

Office:  123 Stallings (504) 865-2161

Office Hours:

Course Meeting Information:    Aug 23 &24; Sept 27 & 28; Oct 25 & 26, Friday's hours are  06:00 - 10:00PM, and the Saturday hours are
09:00 - 05:00PM.  The Aug 23rd class will meet in Monroe 470;  All other classes will be in Seminar Room 4 on the second floor of the library

Required Text:

Course Description:  This course is an intensive overview of the major etiological theories of crime their origins and with special emphasis on criminal justice applications. Linkages between current paradigms of criminal behavior and current developments in criminal justice policy will be explored.  This is a writing-intensive course intended to help provide students with the ability to think and express themselves about the causes of crime in a more focused and scientific manner. There will be lectures over important psychological and sociological concepts, but the main emphasis is placed on the student's developmental learning with paradigms, perspectives, approaches, and models of theory. Special attention is given to the relationships between variables involved in the etiology of crime, such as which variables are causal, intervening, and precipitating, for example. This course requires a working familiarity with computers to write papers and browse the web.

Requirements:

Course Policies: City College policy allows for a reduction in grade for excessive absences in intensively formatted courses. If you anticipate missing nine hours of class time you should not enroll in the course.
 No form of plagiarism is tolerated. Submitting, as one’s own, any assignment done by another person (or by other people) constitutes academic theft.

Exams: (25% of grade) There is one major comprehensive exam at the end of the course. (4 hours) This examination will be taken on Saturday afternoon of your last class meeting.

Writing and Discussion: (75% of grade) Two papers are required in the course.  Each paper consists of a review of a major theoretical work in criminological theory (There are about twenty books on theoretical criminology on reserve in the Loyola Library). Each paper is a comprehensive overview of a theory in question and a review of at least six journal articles that provide a test of the theory or elements of the theory. (See attached list of journals). All papers must be typewritten or word-processed without errors using style guidelines provided in your writer's manual (pp. 71-99).

Learning Outcomes:


Grading System:

A  =   95  –  100
B+ = 90  –    94
B  =   85  –   89
C+ = 80  –   84
If a student scores 71 or below, they must retake the course.

Calendar/Course Itinerary (subject to change):

First Weekend
Readings: Paternoster and Bachman,  Chapters 1-5.
Discussion Topics:
Foundations of Sociological Criminology.
The Relevance of Theory
Neo-Classical Theory
Neo-positivism: Biological Theories
Control Theory
Social Disorganization
Second Weekend
Readings: Paternoster and Bachman. Chapters 6-10
Discussion Topics:
Foundations of Sociological Criminology (continued)
Anomie/Strain Theory
Social Learning Theories
Labeling Theory
Conflict, Radical and Feminist Theories
Theoretical Integration
Third Weekend
To Be Determined
Comprehensive Examination


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Last updated on July 31, 2002