Professor James Byrne, School of Criminology and Justice Studies

Syllabus: Fall 2016

Course Description: This course is designed to provide graduate students with an in-depth examination of the major theories of crime causation, including classical, biological, psychological, and sociological theories. Topics include: theory construction, hypothesis testing, theory integration, and the links among theory, research, and policy.

Learning Objectives:

• Students will learn about the origins and development of a full range of criminological theories, examining each theory in its unique social/political context.
• Students will learn about the application of criminological theories to different crime types (e.g. violent crime, white collar crime), offender types (e.g. juvenile offenders, female offenders, career criminals, etc.), and community contexts (urban, suburban, rural).
• Students will also learn how to test a theory of crime causation, how to systematically examine and summarize the empirical research testing the theory, and how to consider the implications of this body of theory and research for social policy generally and criminal justice policies in particular (e.g. crime prevention strategies, policing strategies, sentencing schemes, and the use of both incarceration and community based sanctions).

TEXTS:

The text listed below is required. In addition, there will be assigned on-line readings  (material available on the web page in the Materials section for this class).

• Lilly, J.Robert, Cullen, Francis and Ball, Richard, 2015.Criminological Theory: Context and Consequences, 6^th edition( Los Angeles: SAGE).
   

 

 

COURSE GRADING:

Final Grades for this course will be determined based on the following criteria:

1. Midterm Examination(Nov.1)................................................................................30%

2. Final Examination( TBD)......................................................................................30%

3. Term Paper( 15-20 page paper, due Dec.6).........................................................30%

4. Class Participation/Performance (including attendance,  class preparation ,and participation in discussion of assigned readings)..10%

Term Paper Outline: Graduate Criminology term paper outline fall 2016
 

CONTACTING THE INSTRUCTOR:

Professor James Byrne, School of Criminology and Justice Studies
 

Meeting time:  Tuesday, 5pm

Location: HHS South Campus

Email: james_byrne@uml.edu

Webpage: http://faculty.uml.edu/jbyrne/
 

Office Hours: Tuesday: 1-4pm ( by appointment)

Phone: 978-934-3992