26945		11:15-12:30	TR			MUHAMMAD

Over the past thirty years, the United States has become a world
leader in the use of incarceration.  At no point in this nation’s
history, or in the world, has incarceration affected more people,
including prisoners, their families, and communities, as is the case
today.  States across the country continue to increase spending on
crime control while cutting back on health and education costs.  As
the criminal justice system continues to grow in the 21st century,
tough questions are being raised about the use of punishment to
control crime and to address social problems.  These, however, are
not new questions.

This course will explore and analyze the cultural, political,
philosophical, economic, gendered, and racial/ethnic/immigrant
dimensions of crime and punishment in over two centuries of American
history.  Frequently at the intersection of deeply-rooted social and
political anxieties in the past, legal definitions of what is
criminal, what behavior is worthy of punishment, and what groups of
people are most deserving of punishment (from retribution to
rehabilitation) has constantly shifted over time.  Class time will
involve lectures, discussions, film and video.  Students will be
expected to participate in discussions and be required to complete
two exams, short in-class assignments, and a take home essay.