SOC 325K: Criminology

Spring 2023, Unique No. 44255

MW 4–5:30
Online, Synchronous/Live-streaming

Instructor: Dr. Amanda Bosky, PhD JD (she/her)

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is intended to be a broad introduction to the study of crime and the field of criminology. The
course is divided into four main sections. The first part of the course focuses on basic definitions and the
empirical understanding of crime, law, and crime trends. The second part details theories and research
on the causes of criminal behavior, with an emphasis on sociological theories. The third part covers a
range of different types of criminal behaviors. The final section explores the control and prevention of
crime, providing a brief introduction to the criminal justice system. We will also cover special topics that
relate to contemporary controversies (mostly in the second half of the course). Further, this course will
emphasize the importance of understanding criminal law as a foundation for the study of crime.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

- Define criminology and how it relates to sociology
- Understand the main facts and myths about crime and crime trends
- Explain and apply multiple theories of criminal behavior
- Use evidence to build an argument
- Understand basic concepts of criminal law and the criminal justice system
- Become critical consumers of scholarship, media, and data on criminological issues

Content warning: The content in this course will necessarily deal with a variety of sensitive topics.
Though I do not believe the textbook has particularly graphic or objectionable material that would be
traumatic to most students, feel free to reach out if you have specific topics you would like flagged.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Readings:
Textbook: Barkan, Steven. Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 7th edition (2017)

The materials for this class are available through the Longhorn Textbook Access (LTA) program, a
collaboration between UT Austin, The University Co-op and textbook publishers to significantly reduce
the cost of digital course materials for students. You can access your required materials through the “My
Textbooks” tab in Canvas. You are automatically opted into the program but can easily opt-out (and
back in) via Canvas through the 12th class day. If you remain opted-in at the end of the add/drop period
(12th class day fall/spring, 4th class day summer sessions), you will receive a bill through your “What I
Owe” page. If you do not pay your bill by the specified deadline, you will lose access to the course
materials and your charge will be removed. More information about the LTA program is available at
universitycoop.com/longhorn-textbook-access.

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Assignments and Grading: I have designed the course requirements such that points can be earned in a
variety of ways, and no one assignment/exam is worth a significant portion of your grade. Your grade for
this course will be based on the following:
Weekly module quizzes – 30%
Crime news coverage analysis – 15%
Specific crime analysis – 30%
Brief reflections/responses – 15%
Instapolls – 10%
Optional: Extra credit opportunity – up to 1.5%

Weekly module quizzes (30%). Each weekly module for the course will include a multiple-choice quiz
over that module’s topic(s). These quizzes will assess your understanding of the main concepts in each
module and help you remain on track with the course material. Each module’s quiz will be due before
the Monday of the next module (exact deadline TBD by student poll).
- Each quiz will contain a mix of multiple choice questions of varying difficulty to assess
comprehension, including questions that require you to apply the knowledge learned.
- You may use your textbook and notes for the quizzes, but each quiz will be timed for 30 minutes,
can only be taken once, and must be completed independently.
o Note that the quizzes are designed to take less than 10 minutes if you understand the
main concepts of the module’s material. Reading the material and attending lectures will
likely be sufficient preparation for most students.
- There are no make-ups for quizzes, but your lowest 3 quiz grades will be dropped. Thus, 10 out
of 13 total graded quizzes will count toward your grade.
o In addition, the Week 1 module quiz will be an ungraded practice quiz to let you become
familiar with the format

Crime news coverage analysis (15%). This is an activity that will require you to analyze the crime news
section of a local Austin news website using information learned in the first unit of the course. It will be
approximately 2 pages in length. Detailed instructions for this assignment will be available on Canvas.
- Due: Friday, February 10

Specific crime analysis (30%). The main writing assignment for the course will be an analysis of a crime
of your choosing. It will be approximately 4 pages in length. You will be able to choose a real or fictional
crime (from media) for your analysis, as long as the perpetrator and general facts of the crime are
known/established. In your analysis, you will use information learned in the course to classify the crime,
provide theoretical explanations for why it occurred, and consider how the crime could have been
prevented. Detailed instructions will be available on Canvas.
- Due: Friday, March 31

Brief reflections/responses (15%). In place of high-stakes midterm and final exams, you will be given a
choice of prompts that require you to engage with broader or cross-unit concepts in the course. You
must submit brief (<1 page) responses to at least 2 of these prompts throughout the semester—one in
the first half and one in the second half of the course. Each reflection/response will be worth 7.5% of
your grade. If you choose to respond to additional prompts, only your highest grade for each half of the
course will be counted.
- Reflection/response #1 due before spring break (Friday, March 10)
- Reflection/response #2 due by the last day of class (Monday, April 24)

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Instapolls (10%). Class participation will be measured through responses to UT TOWER Instapoll
questions presented during live lectures in the Video Stream. Each class meeting that covers course
material will include at least one Instapoll question, and they will be graded for completion/credit only.
Instapoll questions will only be available to students who are present in the livestreaming lecture
when the poll is released. Each day of Instapolls will be worth an equal portion of your participation
grade, and I will drop 2 days of Instapoll questions.
- Note: Any class meetings designated “Flex days” will not have graded Instapolls.

Optional: Extra credit opportunity (up to 1.5%). At any time in the semester, you may submit an extra
credit assignment worth up to 1.5% of your overall course grade, depending on your level of effort. The
assignment does not relate to the course content, so it can be completed at any time. I will not offer any
additional extra credit beyond this one assignment. The details for the assignment are available on
Canvas.
- I will review extra credit submissions periodically and post the amount of credit received;
however, the extra credit will not actually be added to your overall grade until the end of the
semester (to avoid confusion due to how Canvas handles weighted assignment groups).

COURSE POLICIES

Course Communication/Announcements
I will use Canvas Announcements as the main method of communicating relevant course information to
the class. See the “Pre-Class Activities Module” for information on how to configure Canvas to deliver
Announcements to your email to ensure you do not miss any important information.

Grading Policies
Flexibility and extra credit is built into the class assignments to support your success in this course. If you
miss a small assignment or do not do as well on earlier assignments, your grade should not be impacted
significantly. Consequently, the final grades are firm, and grades will not be adjusted or changed unless
there is a grading/calculation error.

Final grades will be calculated using the following scale:

A 93-100
A- 90-92
B+ 87-89
B 83-86
B- 80-82
C+ 77-79
C 73-76
C- 70-72
D+ 67-69
D 63-66
D- 60-62
F 0-59

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Absences
Class attendance is not technically graded for this course; however, class participation will be assessed
based on your responses to class Instapolls as described in the course requirements. Because I will not
be counting all weeks of polls toward your grade, you can miss some lectures without incurring any
reduction in your participation grade. If you have to be absent, use your resources wisely. Ask classmates
for any information or notes you may have missed. If there are topics covered during your absence that
raise specific questions, you can attend office hours or schedule a meeting to discuss. However, please
do not email me or the TAs asking “What did I miss?”

Conduct
This class will cover sensitive and often controversial topics that may be uncomfortable for some
students. I encourage good discussions and critical assessment of issues, and I support the free exchange
of ideas. However, I also require that students respect their peers, and inflammatory remarks or
inappropriate behavior will be dealt with accordingly.

Contacting me
You should use the course email address to contact me for most course-related matters. If you need to
schedule a time to meet outside of office hours or have something of a personal or sensitive nature to
discuss, you may contact me through a Canvas message or directly through my individual email
(abosky@utexas.edu). I will do my best to respond to emails within a reasonable amount of time, but I
may not respond to emails received after 5pm until the next day.

I also encourage students to come to my virtual office hours or schedule a time to meet if you cannot
attend my scheduled office hours.

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CLASS SCHEDULE

All instructions, assignments, and other essential information will be posted on the Canvas website at
https://utexas.instructure.com. Weekly resources and requirements will be organized into Modules to
support content navigation and student success. Lecture outline documents will be added to the
corresponding Module prior to each day’s lecture for ease of note-taking.

Check the Canvas site regularly, as changes to the schedule may be made at my discretion and if
circumstances require. It is your responsibility to note these changes when announced—though I will do
my best to ensure that you receive as much advance notice of any changes as possible.

Week Date Required Reading / Topics Assignment Info

Week 1 1/9 Review syllabus

PART I: UNDERSTANDING CRIME AND VICTIMIZATION

1/11 Ch. 1: Criminology and the Sociological
Perspective

Week 2 1/16 NO CLASS - MLK holiday

1/18 Special Topic: Criminal Law

Week 3 1/23 Ch. 3: The Measurement and Patterning of

Criminal Behavior

1/25 Ch. 4: Victims and Victimization

Week 4 1/30 Ch. 2: Public Opinion, the News Media, and the
Crime Problem

PART II: EXPLAINING CRIME

2/1 Ch. 5: Classical and Neoclassical Perspectives

Week 5 2/6 Ch. 6: Biological and Psychological Explanations

2/8 NO CLASS - Dr. B traveling for work Crime news coverage

analysis due Friday, February
10 or Monday, February 13
Week 6 2/13 Ch. 7: Sociological Theories: Emphasis on Social
Structure

2/15 Continued

Week 7 2/20 Ch. 8: Sociological Theories: Emphasis on Social

Process

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 2/22 Continued

Week 8 2/27 Ch. 9: Sociological Theories: Critical Perspectives

PART III: CRIMINAL BEHAVIORS

3/1 Ch. 10: Violent Crime: Homicide, Assault, and
Robbery

Week 9 3/6 Special Topics: Mass Shootings and Gun Control

3/8 Ch. 11: Violence Against Women Brief reflection/response #1

due Friday, March 10
Week 10 3/13 NO CLASS - SPRING BREAK

3/15 NO CLASS - SPRING BREAK

Week 11 3/20 Ch. 12: Property Crime and Fraud

3/22 Ch. 13: White-Collar and Organized Crime

Week 12 3/27 Ch. 14: Political Crime

3/29 Flex time - TBD Specific crime analysis due

Friday, March 31 or Monday,
February 3

PART IV: CONTROLLING AND PREVENTING CRIME

Week 13 4/3 Ch. 15: Consensual Crime

4/5 Special Topic: Drug Legalization

Week 14 4/10 Chapter 16: Policing: Dilemmas of Crime Control

in a Democratic Society
Special Topic: Excessive Force

4/12 Flex time - TBD

Week 15 4/17 Chapter 17: Prosecution and Punishment (pp.

334-348 – everything except “The Death Penalty
Debate” section)
Special Topic: Mass Incarceration
4/19 Chapter 17, continued (pp. 348-353 – “The Death
Penalty Debate” section)
Chapter 18: How Can We Reduce Crime?
Special Topic: Death Penalty

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 Week 16 4/24 Flex time - TBD Brief reflection/response #2
due

Note: “Flex time” may be used for a variety of purposes. At least some of this time will be devoted to
topics of the class’s choosing, such as academic/professional/life issues or criminological issues we did
not cover in depth. Any topics we cover on flex days will be for informational purposes only and will not
be assessed as part of the course. This time will simply be for your benefit/interests.

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ADDITIONAL COURSE POLICIES

Sharing of Course Materials is Prohibited

No materials used in this class, including, but not limited to, lecture hand-outs, videos, assessments
(quizzes, exams, papers, projects, homework assignments), and in-class materials, may be shared online
with anyone outside of the class unless you have my explicit, written permission. Unauthorized sharing
of materials promotes cheating. It is a violation of the University’s Student Honor Code and an act of
academic dishonesty. Any materials found online that are associated with you, or any suspected
unauthorized sharing of materials, will be reported to Student Conduct and Academic Integrity in the
Office of the Dean of Students. These reports can result in sanctions, including failure in the course.

University Resources for Students

Services for Students with Disabilities
This class respects and welcomes students of all backgrounds, identities, and abilities. If there are
circumstances that make our learning environment and activities difficult, if you have medical
information that you need to share with me, or if you need specific arrangements in case the building
needs to be evacuated, please let me know. I am committed to creating an effective learning
environment for all students, but I can only do so if you discuss your needs with me as early as possible. I
promise to maintain the confidentiality of these discussions. Any student with a documented disability
who requires academic accommodations should contact Services for Students with Disabilities at
471-6259 (voice) or 512-410-6644 (Video Phone) as soon as possible to request an official letter
outlining authorized accommodations. For more information, visit
http://ddce.utexas.edu/disability/about/.

Counseling and Mental Health Center

Do your best to maintain a healthy lifestyle this semester by eating well, exercising, getting enough sleep
and taking some time to relax. This will help you achieve your goals and cope with stress.

All of us benefit from support during times of struggle. You are not alone. There are many helpful
resources available on campus and an important part of the college experience is learning how to ask for
help. Asking for support sooner rather than later is often helpful.

If you or anyone you know experiences any academic stress, difficult life events, or feelings like anxiety
or depression, we strongly encourage you to seek support.
http://www.cmhc.utexas.edu/individualcounseling.html

The Sanger Learning Center

Did you know that more than one-third of UT undergraduate students use the Sanger Learning
Center each year to improve their academic performance? All students are welcome to take advantage
of Sanger Center’s classes and workshops, private learning specialist appointments, peer academic
coaching, and tutoring for more than 70 courses in 15 different subject areas. For more information,
please visit http://www.utexas.edu/ugs/slc or call 512-471-3614 (JES A332).

Undergraduate Writing Center: http://uwc.utexas.edu/

Libraries: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/
ITS: http://www.utexas.edu/its/
Student Emergency Services: http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/emergency/

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BeVocal
BeVocal is a university-wide initiative to promote the idea that individual Longhorns have the power to
prevent high-risk behavior and harm. At UT Austin all Longhorns have the power to intervene and reduce
harm. To learn more about BeVocal and how you can help to build a culture of care on campus, go to:
https://wellnessnetwork.utexas.edu/BeVocal/.

UNIVERSITY POLICIES

Title IX Reporting
Title IX is a federal law that protects against sex and gender-based discrimination, sexual harassment,
sexual assault, sexual misconduct, dating/domestic violence and stalking at federally funded educational
institutions. UT Austin is committed to fostering a learning and working environment free from
discrimination in all its forms. When sexual misconduct occurs in our community, the university can:
1. Intervene to prevent harmful behavior from continuing or escalating.
2. Provide support and remedies to students and employees who have experienced harm or
have become involved in a Title IX investigation.
3. Investigate and discipline violations of the university’s relevant policies.

Beginning January 1, 2020, Texas Senate Bill 212 requires all employees of Texas universities, including
faculty, report any information to the Title IX Office regarding sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating
violence and stalking that is disclosed to them. Texas law requires that all employees who witness or
receive any information of this type (including, but not limited to, writing assignments, class discussions,
or one-on-one conversations) must be reported. I am a Responsible Employee and must report any Title
IX related incidents that are disclosed in writing, discussion, or one-on-one. Before talking with me, or
with any faculty or staff member about a Title IX related incident, be sure to ask whether they are a
responsible employee. If you would like to speak with someone who can provide support or remedies
without making an official report to the university, please email advocate@austin.utexas.edu. For more
information about reporting options and resources, visit http://www.titleix.utexas.edu/, contact the Title
IX Office via email at titleix@austin.utexas.edu, or call 512-471-0419.

Although graduate teaching and research assistants are not subject to Texas Senate Bill 212, they are still
mandatory reporters under Federal Title IX laws and are required to report a wide range of behaviors we
refer to as sexual misconduct, including the types of sexual misconduct covered under Texas Senate Bill
212. The Title IX office has developed supportive ways to respond to a survivor and compiled campus
resources to support survivors.

Emergency Evacuation Procedures

The following recommendations regarding emergency evacuation from the Office of Campus Safety and
Security, 512-471-5767, http://www.utexas.edu/safety/

Academic Integrity
Each student in the course is expected to abide by the University of Texas Honor Code: “As a
student of The University of Texas at Austin, I shall abide by the core values of the University and
uphold academic integrity.” Plagiarism is taken very seriously at UT. Therefore, if you use words
or ideas that are not your own (or that you have used in previous class), you must cite your
sources. Otherwise you will be guilty of plagiarism and subject to academic disciplinary action,

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including failure of the course. You are responsible for understanding UT’s Academic Honesty
and the University Honor Code which can be found at the following web address:
http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/acint_student.php

All assignments in this course may be processed by TurnItIn, a tool that compares submitted
material to an archived database of published work to check for potential plagiarism. Other
methods may also be used to determine if a paper is the student's original work. Regardless of
the results of any TurnItIn submission, the faculty member will make the final determination as
to whether or not a paper has been plagiarized.

Q Drop Policy
If you want to drop a class after the 12th class day, you’ll need to execute a Q drop before the Q-drop
deadline, which typically occurs near the middle of the semester. Under Texas law, you are only
allowed six Q drops while you are in college at any public Texas institution. For more information, see:
http://www.utexas.edu/ugs/csacc/academic/adddrop/qdrop

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