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Crime, Law and Deviance

Faculty in the area of Crime, Law, and Deviance investigate: 1) how sociocultural systems and change influences institutions of social control and social definitions of crime and deviance; 2) how patterns of crime and deviance affect the structure and functioning of sociocultural systems; and 3) how social positions and identities (including those related to changes over the life course) affect crime and deviance. Each conceptual theme, whether Crime, Law, or Deviance have a unique scholarly literature as does their intersection reflected in disciplines such as Criminology, Criminal Justice, and Social Justice.

The ten faculty members specializing in this area of concentration have a range of research interests. They have incorporated an assortment of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches towards answering societal questions of significance.

Professional organizations that overlap with this area of concentration include the American Sociological Association (ASA), Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS), American Society of Criminology (ASC), Law and Society Association (LSA), the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP), in addition to many regional organizations.

The Howard B. Kaplan Laboratory for Social Science Research as extensive and unique data available to those in this field who are interested in joining a current project or submitting a new research proposal.

Major and Minor in the PhD Program

According to the new guidelines of the Sociology Graduate Program, doctoral students declare a major (three courses) and a minor (one course) from any of the American Sociological Association (ASA) sections. The ASA sections that are most relevant for graduate students who work in the Crime, Law, and Deviance area include:

Aging and the Life Course

Collective Behavior and Social Movements

Community and Urban Sociology

Comparative-Historical Sociology

Crime, Law, and Deviance

Drugs and Society

Environmental Sociology

Inequality, Poverty, and Mobility

International Migration

Latina/o Sociology

Peace, War, and Social Conflict

Race, Gender, and Class

Racial and Ethnic Minorities

Sociological Practice and Public Sociology

Sociology of Culture

Sociology of Human Rights

Sociology of Indigenous People and Native Nations

Sociology of Law

Sociology of Mental Health

Undergraduate Courses

SOCI 211 Sociology Deviance

SOCI 304 Criminology

SOCI 313 Military, War and Society

SOCI 338 Latino Immigration

SOCI 422 Race, Ethnicity, Crime and Justice

SOCI 445 Sociology of Law

SOCI 489 Juvenile Delinquency

Graduate Courses

SOCI 627 Seminar in Law, Deviance and Social Control: Foundations of Crime, Law and Deviance

SOCI 627 Seminar in Law, Deviance and Social Control: Crime, Punishment and the Life Course

SOCI 627 Seminar in Law, Deviance and Social Control: Race, Ethnicity, Crime and Justice

SOCI 628 Deviant Behavior

SOCI 629 Sociology of Law

Faculty