Criminology examines various aspects of crime and criminal justice, including
the criminalization of behaviors, law breaking, and societal reactions to crime.
We address these questions:
- How is crime socially defined?
- What social forces influence how we think about crime?
- What is the relationship between social processes and the making of
criminal law?
- What social factors influence criminal behavior?
- How are different groups affected by crime and crime control?
- What roles does punishment play in society?
- What can social institutions do to reduce human conflict and injustice?
Undergraduate Study
The concentration in Criminal Justice is available at the undergraduate
level. This curriculum is grounded in a liberal arts approach to and critical
perspective on crime and criminal justice. Our principal objective is to provide
students with the analytic tools for understanding both the variable sources and
dynamics of crime and crime control. We hope thereby to promote both humane
understanding of criminological issues and democratization of the crime-control
apparatus. The undergraduate criminology curriculum also provides the
substantive background and analytical skills essential for students who
subsequently pursue graduate studies in sociology or criminal justice.
Graduate Study
The specialty in Criminology is available at the Masters and Doctoral levels.
Our objectives are:
- to promote critical understandings of the relationship between social
forces and crime definition, criminal behavior, and the institutions and
dynamics of social control;
- to apply sociological theories to research on crime and criminal justice;
- to provide tools for the analysis of fundamental crime and criminal
justice issues, including the preservation of peace and the safeguarding of
due process and civil rights in a democratic society.
The Sociology Faculty in Criminology:
Hoan Bui, Associate Professor: Intimate violence, juvenile delinquency, immigration and crime, women/minorities
in criminal justice.
Ben Feldmeyer, Assistant Professor: Criminology, demography, race/ethnicity, stratification, research/quantitative
methods, sentencing and the courts.
Suzanne Kurth, Associate Professor: Social psychology, gender, sexual harassment, technological change in
communications and social interaction/relationships.
Lois Presser, Associate Professor: Criminological theory, restorative/community justice, narratives of violent
offenders and victims of violence.
Wornie Reed, Professor: African American communities, children and youth, criminal justice, health and
medical care, sports and society.
Neal Shover, Professor: Criminal organization, criminal careers, white-collar crime, social sources of
punishment variation.
James Black, Professor Emeritus: Homicide studies, multiple offender killings, murder for hire, crime films and
society.
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