Description
“The standards of a nation’s civilization can be judged by opening the doors of its prisons”
-F. M. Dostoevsky
“The mood and temper of the public in regard to the treatment of crime and criminals is one of the most unfailing tests of the civilization of any country”
-Winston Churchill
This course is designed to provide a broad understanding of contemporary responses to crime in Western societies. There is great variation in the severity of criminal punishments given across Western nations. We will examine this variation with a particular focus on how criminal punishments in other Western nations compare to U.S. criminal punishment. We will discuss empirical research dedicated to the understanding of this variation and leading theoretical explanations for the differences that exist across Western countries in terms criminal punishment. By the end of this course students should 1) have a broad understanding of criminal punishment in the U.S. and how it compares to the criminal punishments given in other Western countries 2) be familiar with leading explanations for Western variation in criminal punishment, both theoretical and empirical and 3) appreciate the benefits as well as the challenges of comparative research.
Required Texts (the Dean’s Office will not accept “Course Packet” or “TBA”)
Cavadino, Michael and James Dignan. 2006. Penal Systems: A Comparative Approach
Garland, David. 2001. The Culture of Control
Tonry. 2004. Thinking About Crime: Sense and Sensibility in American Penal Culture
Whitman, James Q. 2003. Harsh Justice: Criminal Punishment and the Widening Divide Between America and Europe
Grading Policy
Exams: 3 x 30% = 90%
Quizzes: 10%
Total: 100%
