SOC 3574 - The Criminal Legal System and Social Inequality

This course provides an overview of the many dimensions of social inequality and how it relates to law, crime, and justice. It is comprised of 4 encompassing modules we will work through on Canvas across the semester. Each reading in this course has been carefully selected and addresses topics related to social stratification and inequality (Module 1) and different correlates of inequality in crime, law, punishment, and/or the justice system (Modules 2-4). Many of these authors and articles are provocative and are included to help you critically analyze the criminal justice system and to help you formulate your own opinions. You are by no means expected to agree with all the articles, but you should be able to explain the authors’ points of view and provide evidence as to why you agree or disagree. My hope is that these readings will help us to better understand the context of current events– for example, the widespread protests in response to the homicide of George Floyd in May 2020. What racial- and class- disparities underlie our criminal justice system? How/why do we continue to see racial inequality in the criminal justice system, decades after the Civil Rights Movement?