University of Delaware Courses Taught Recently

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 General overview of the American corrections system and a survey of the most pressing correctional problems of the twenty-first century. Philosophy of punishment extensively discussed. Major emphasis on the nature of the prison experience, alternatives to incarceration, judicial intervention in correctional affairs and the controversy over the efficacy of rehabilitation programs. 

 Survey of research methods and data analysis employed in sociology.

 An in-depth view of the juvenile justice system in the United States focusing on crime patterns, police-juvenile relations, juvenile courts and correctional practices. 

In this course we use a sociological perspective to study the punishment of and inequality among youth. We pay particular attention to how youth are treated within the juvenile justice system and how their treatment is a function of inequality, particularly racial inequality.  Though our focus is broader than that of most criminal justice courses, each topic will share a focus on the social control of youth and the social reproduction of inequality among youth.

This course takes a sociological view of childhood and children’s lives, including topics such as: historical development and variability of the category of childhood, inequality among children, educational systems, children’s experiences with social institutions and childhood peer relations.