DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINOLOGY & CRIMINAL JUSTICE
CRIMINOLOGY 4006A - HONOURS RESEARCH SEMINAR
FALL & WINTER SEMESTERS, 2009-2010
T, 2:30pm-5:20pm, MMH 102

Dr. Michael Boudreau

Office: Brian Mulroney Hall, Room 404
Office Hours: Thursday, 1:00pm-3:00pm, or by appointment.
Office Phone: 452-0501
E-Mail: mboudreau@stu.ca
Website: http://www.stu.ca/academic/crim/boudreau/index.htm

COURSE DESCRIPTION
Criminology 4006A is an honours-level seminar course devoted to exploring, from a critical and theoretical perspective, the nature of criminology, crime, and criminal justice. This course will also focus on the research topics of each honours student. In particular, we will discuss the theory and methodology that each student will utilize in their honours theses, and we will place their topics in a wider social and political context.

Criminology 4006A is divided into two sections. The first section, in the Fall, will concentrate on critiquing the criminal justice system, along with what and who it, and society generally, deem to be a “crime” and a “criminal.” This will be accomplished by reading Jeffrey Reiman and Paul Leighton’s The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison: Ideology, Class, and Criminal Justice, in addition to supplemental readings, and completing three written assignments based upon this book.

The second section, in the Winter, will be devoted to an in-depth examination of each student’s honours research topic. This will be done by completing a series of readings that focus on the thesis topics and each student will lead the seminar discussions that pertain to their topic.

This course will pay particular attention to the class, ethnic, and gender dimensions of crime and criminals and how these social constructs, and lived experiences, have influenced the study of criminology and the administration of the criminal justice system. A series of seminar discussions, oral presentations, and written assignments will allow students to critically analyze and debate their honours research topics, along with the broader themes of criminology, crime, and criminal justice.

PREREQUISITES
The prerequisites for this course are Criminology 2253, 3253, and formal acceptance into the Honours programme.

REQUIRED TEXT
Jeffrey Reiman and Paul Leighton, The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison: Ideology, Class, and Criminal Justice, Ninth Edition (Boston: Pearson, 2010). This book may be purchased at the University Bookstore.

REQUIRED READINGS
All of the seminar readings for this course will be distributed in class on a weekly basis.

GRADING & DUE DATES
Seminar Participation: 40%
Three (3) Crime and Criminal Justice Reports: 20% Each.
Due: Tuesday, October 13th and November 3rd and 24th, 2009, at 2:30pm.

GRADING SCHEME
All of the assignments for Criminology 4006A will be assigned a grade according to the Criminology & Criminal Justice Department’s grading structure:

A+ (90% + )
A (85-89%)
A- (80-84%)
B+ (77-79%)
B (74-76%)
B- (70-73%)
C+ (67-69%)
C (64-66%)
C- (60-63%)
D (50-59%)
F (Below 50%)

Students may consult the 2009-2010 St. Thomas University Calendar (Pages 282-283) for a detailed definition of these letter grades, as well as their corresponding grade points. The Calendar is available at http://w3.stu.ca/stu/administrative/registrar/services/calendar.aspx

DEADLINES & EXTENSIONS
The deadlines for this course will be strictly enforced. Each assignment must be submitted directly to me during class time. I will not accept a written assignment outside of the regularly scheduled time for this course.

Similarly, all written assignments must be submitted in hard-copy format. I will not accept a written assignment as an e-mail attachment.

Students will be assessed a late penalty of 10% of each assignment’s value for each day that the assignment is overdue. This includes weekends and holidays. Extensions will only be granted with a valid medical excuse. Otherwise, extensions will not be given.

DISABILITY
If you have a learning disability, please bring it to my attention immediately. We will then discuss any arrangements that must be made with the Co-ordinator of Services for Student Accessibility for completing the written assignments for this course. For more information, please consult the “Policy on Students with Disabilities” in the 2009-2010 St. Thomas University Calendar (Pages 291-292).

UNIVERSITY POLICY ON CLASSROOM CONDUCT
In an effort to promote a sound academic culture, both professors and students should approach their roles in a professional manner. According to the 2009-2010 Calendar, St. Thomas “is dedicated to free and reasoned discussion, to critical debate, and to the exploration of diverse and competing ideas. Students can expect to be encouraged to participate actively in classes, to enter into intellectual debate, and to have their contributions treated respectfully by their instructors. Instructors can expect students to attend class regularly and to come prepared to contribute effectively to the work of the class. Students can expect their instructors to terminate verbal and other behaviour in the classroom that is not respectful of others. Instructors can expect students to cooperate in the maintenance of a climate that is free from personal intimidation, insult, and harassment.” (Pages 10-11)

UNIVERSITY POLICY ON CLASS ATTENDANCE
It is important for students to know that class attendance is something that I take very seriously. Indeed, frequent absences from this class, without a valid excuse, will detrimentally affect a student’s academic standing in Criminology 4006A specifically, and in the Honours programme generally.

As the 2009-2010 Calendar states: “Regular attendance is expected of students at all classes. In general, the responsibility for meeting this obligation rests with the student. It is the responsibility of students to notify their instructors when they expect to be, or have been, absent from class for any justifiable reason...It is the prerogative of the instructor to determine when a student’s scholastic standing in any course is being affected adversely by repeated absences.” (Emphasis added. Page 278)

DISMISSAL FROM THE COURSE
As the 2009-2010 Calendar notes, a “student may be required to withdraw from a course for repeated absences.” The procedures that I will follow in order to dismiss a student from this course appear on page 280 of the 2009-2010 Calendar.

UNIVERSITY REGULATION ON LAPTOP COMPUTERS IN THE CLASSROOM
While students may use laptop computers to take notes in class, laptops and “other electronic devices are not to be used in class for activities unrelated to the class.” (Page 278) Moreover, students may not use tape recorders, or other electronic devices, to record seminar discussions or oral presentations.

SEMINAR PARTICIPATION
This portion of Criminology 4006A is worth 40% of the final mark. The readings for each seminar are contained in The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison, Ninth Edition, as well as supplemental readings which will be distributed in class on a weekly basis.

The seminar readings are intended to facilitate discussion and debate on each students’ honours thesis topic, along with the broader themes of criminology, crime, and criminal justice.

Students are required to complete all of the assigned readings before each seminar and to actively participate in the discussions. All of the 40% will be determined on the basis of a student’s ability to offer their critical interpretation of the readings and to contribute to the seminar discussion in an intelligent and constructive manner.

Students will also be expected to lead the seminar discussion during those classes when the readings focus on their thesis topic.

Those students who do not participate, on a continuous basis, in the seminar discussions, will not receive a passing grade in this portion of Criminology 4006A. Moreover, frequent absences from class will significantly reduce a student’s seminar participation mark.

In addition to the weekly seminar discussions, each student is required to give TWO (2) Oral Presentations to the class based upon their honours thesis topic. These presentations will be held in class on Tuesday, 1 December 2009 and Tuesday, 13 April 2010. Each presentation should be between ten (10) and twenty (20) minutes in length.

The December presentation will provide an update on the progress that students have made on their honours thesis and the April presentation will be a “mock” defence of their honours thesis.

Students will be assessed on the clarity and organization of their presentations, in addition to their understanding of the topic and the strength of their research.

CRIME & CRIMINAL JUSTICE REPORTS
Due: Tuesday, October 13th and November 3rd and 24th, 2009, at 2:30pm. Each of these assignments are worth 20% of the final mark. They are intended to introduce students to some of the central issues in criminology, crime, and criminal justice.

Each report must be a minimum of EIGHT (8) and a maximum of TEN (10) double-spaced, type-written pages (12pt. font), which does not include the title page, references, and the works cited section, or bibliography.

Each report is based upon Jeffrey Reiman and Paul Leighton’s, The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison: Ideology, Class, and Criminal Justice, Ninth Edition.

The First Report, which is due on Tuesday, October 13th at 2:30pm, must address the question “What is a Crime”?

The Second Report, which is due on Tuesday, November 3rd at 2:30pm, must address the question “Who is a Criminal”?

The Third Report, which is due on Tuesday, November 24th at 2:30pm, must debate the strengths and weaknesses of the Marxian critique of crime and criminal justice and compare it to the theory that you have chosen for your honours thesis. If a student has chosen a Marxist theory to use in her/his thesis, then she/he must explain why it is the most appropriate theory for their study.

In addition to The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison, students must utilize, in each Report, at least THREE (3) academic sources. Most websites, encyclopedias (printed and on-line versions, such as Wikipedia), and magazine articles, are not academic sources, and thus will not be accepted for these assignments. Newspapers may be used for each Report, but they are not academic sources.

A hand-out, which further explains the requirements for this assignment, is posted on WebCT.

WRITING STYLE
Writing style and presentation count for a great deal in terms of assessing a student’s final mark. The proper use of grammar, punctuation, and references, as well as correct spelling, must be followed when completing the written assignments for this course. Each Crime and Criminal Justice Report must have a Title Page, References (APA, Footnotes, or Endnotes), and a Works Cited section, or a Bibliography.

If a student submits a written assignment which does not contain references or a works cited section, or a bibliography, their assignment will not be marked and they will receive a grade of ZERO (0%) on that assignment.

Students are encouraged to speak with me about any difficulties that they may encounter while preparing their written assignments for this course. Similarly, once an assignment has been graded, I will only discuss a student’s mark with them in person, in my office, not over the phone or via e-mail. Students should feel free to make an appointment with me to discuss their mark.

As part of this discussion, students must come prepared with a cogently written argument as to why they feel that their grade should be changed.

ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT (PLAGIARISM)
Students must not commit PLAGIARISM. Plagiarism is a serious form of academic misconduct which can result in FAILURE in the course or expulsion from the University if it has been determined that a student has plagiarized a written assignment. In essence, plagiarism is using the research and ideas of others, without properly acknowledging their work with quotation marks and/or references.

The 2009-2010 St. Thomas University Calendar (Page 285) states that plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:
1. Presenting another person’s ideas, words, or other intellectual property, including material found on the internet, as one’s own.
2. Writing an essay, report or assignment, or a portion thereof, for someone else to submit as their own work.
3. Submitting an essay, report, or assignment when a major portion has been previously submitted or is being submitted for another course at St. Thomas or any other university without the express permission of both instructors.

Purchasing an essay from a website, or from another person, and submitting it as original work, is also a form of plagiarism.

The procedures that will be followed in cases of plagiarism are outlined on pages 285-287 of the 2009-2010 Calendar.

If you have any questions about plagiarism, please do not hesitate to ask me.

CRIMINOLOGY RESOURCES
Students can search the Harriet Library’s main catalogue, Quest, for a variety of criminology resources. In particular, students should consult the section “Subject and Course Guides”, which appears on the Library’s website. Once there, select Criminology as a subject, and a variety of resources will appear. A link to this subject guide is posted on WebCT. Students can also search the library’s E-Resources for research material.

Marc Bragdon is the Criminology Librarian. Please feel free to speak with him about your research projects. His office hours for the Fall Semester are Wednesday, 10:00am-Noon, room 317D in the Library. If you cannot locate his office, please ask for assistance at the Research Help Desk on the main floor of the Library. Appointments may also be made with Mr. Bradgon. His e-mail address is mbragdon@unb.ca.

The Gerard V. La Forest Law Library (http://lawlibrary.unbf.ca/) is an excellent source of research material for this course and possibly for your honours thesis. Students should consult the e-Resources category which appears on the Law Library’s website. The Criminal Code of Canada is also available at the Law Library and on-line at: http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C-46/index.html.

CRIMINOLOGY & SOCIOLOGY JOURNALS
These academic journals, which are located in the Harriet and Law Libraries, either in text-based or e-Journal formats, may be very useful for locating research materials for your honours thesis:
American Behavioral Scientist
American Journal of Criminal Justice
American Sociological Review
British Journal of Sociology
Canadian Journal of Criminology and Corrections
Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Canadian Journal of Law and Society
Canadian Journal of Sociology
Canadian Journal of Women and the Law
Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology
Contemporary Justice Review
Crime & Justice
Criminal Justice Matters
Criminal Justice Studies
Criminology
Critical Criminology
International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice
International Journal of Comparative Criminology
International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
International Journal of the Sociology of Law
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice
Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice
Journal of Interpersonal Violence
Journal of Quantitative Criminology
Journal of Social Issues
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency
Law and Society Review
Social Forces
Social Problems
Theoretical Criminology
Victimology
Women and Criminal Justice

COURSE SCHEDULE - FALL SEMESTER 2009

Students must complete all of the assigned readings for each seminar. These readings include Reiman and Leighton, The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison, and supplemental readings which will be distributed in class on a weekly basis.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS COURSE SCHEDULE & ITS CONTENTS
ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT THE PROFESSOR’S DISCRETION!

1. Tuesday, 15 September 2009

AN INTRODUCTION TO STUDENTS’ HONOURS THESIS TOPICS

2. Tuesday, 22 September 2009

CRIME CONTROL & CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Reading

3. Tuesday, 29 September 2009

DEFINING CRIME & CRIMINALITY
Reading

4. Tuesday, 6 October 2009

WHAT IS A CRIME?
Readings

5. Tuesday, 13 October 2009

THE PHILOSOPHY OF CRIMINOLOGY
Reading

FIRST CRIME & CRIMINAL JUSTICE REPORTS ARE DUE IN CLASS AT 2:30pm!

6. Tuesday, 20 October 2009

CLASS, ETHNICITY, & THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF THE CRIMINAL
Reading

7. Tuesday, 27 October 2009

WAGING A LOSING BATTLE: THE WAR AGAINST CRIME
Reading

8. Tuesday, 3 November 2009

IS THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM “JUST”?
Reading

SECOND CRIME & CRIMINAL JUSTICE REPORTS ARE DUE IN CLASS AT 2:30pm!

9. Tuesday, 10 November 2009

GAUGING THE PUBLIC’S TRUST IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
Reading

10. Tuesday, 17 November 2009

THEORIES OF CRIME & PUNISHMENT: PART I
Readings

11. Tuesday, 24 November 2009

THEORIES OF CRIME & PUNISHMENT: PART II
Reading

THIRD CRIME & CRIMINAL JUSTICE REPORTS ARE DUE IN CLASS AT 2:30pm!

12. Tuesday, 1 December 2009

STUDENTS’ ORAL PRESENTATIONS:
HONOURS THESIS UPDATE

FINAL CLASS FOR CRIMINOLOGY 4006A IN THE FALL SEMESTER!

COURSE SCHEDULE - WINTER SEMESTER 2010

Students must complete all of the assigned readings for each seminar. These readings will be distributed in class on a weekly basis.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS COURSE SCHEDULE & ITS CONTENTS
ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT THE PROFESSOR’S DISCRETION!

13. Tuesday, 12 January 2010

LIBRARY RESEARCH SEMINAR - HARRIET LIBRARY

14. Tuesday, 19 January 2010

MIXED MESSAGES IN NORTH AMERICA’S WAR ON DRUGS
Readings

15. Tuesday, 26 January 2010

ETHNICITY & CLASS IN NORTH AMERICA’S WAR ON DRUGS
Readings

16. Tuesday, 2 February 2010