CATALOG DESCRIPTION:
This course will focus on corrections as one of the components of the American criminal justice system and its operation within a democratic form of government. The philosophical and historical underpinnings of punishment and corrections will be analyzed and compared (e.g., punishment vs. rehabilitation. The effects of “race,” class, and gender will be considered.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
This course will focus on corrections as the third component of the American criminal justice system. This class is not only an introduction to the field of corrections but also larger issues of penology – the study of pain and punishment. In this class, we will discuss the correctional system – how it runs, what’s it like to be in prison, what it does to people, who goes to prison, and why people go there. We will also discuss many of the issues that encompass the system of corrections, such as, the history and use of punishments, women in prison, community-based corrections, juveniles in prison, boot camps, probation and parole, the death penalty, and alternatives to prison. We will also discuss the impact of race and gender on the correctional system.
