Instructor: Michelle Hughes Miller, PhD

Class Information: T, TH: 11:00 - 12:15 p.m. in Parkinson 108

Office Hours: T 10-11:30 a.m.; TH: 10-11:30 a.m., 1-4 p.m. in Faner 3436

Contact Information: 453-7633, mhmiller@siu.edu

Required texts:

Belknap, Joanne. 2001. The Invisible Woman: Gender, Crime and Justice. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Dunn, Jennifer L. 2002. Courting Disaster: Intimate Stalking, Culture and Criminal Justice. New York: Aldine De Gruyter.

Maher, Lisa. 1997. Sexed Work: Gender, Race and Resistance in a Brooklyn Drug Market. New York: Oxford University Press.

Additional readings as assigned. They will be available electronically and in the Department of Sociology main office.

Course description:

This course is an introduction to the study of women's involvement in crime. The course is divided into three substantive areas: (1) The Victimization of Women; (2) Women Offenders; and (3) Feminist Jurisprudence. Course readings and discussions will focus upon the pervasiveness of women's victimization in this society, and society’s response to this victimization. In addition, we will address stereotypes and realities surrounding women's involvement in criminal behaviors, emphasizing the socially constructed nature of women's criminality. Finally, we will turn to feminist jurisprudence to seek strategies to respond to women’s victimization and criminality and discuss the concept of gendered justice. The three major goals for this course are for students:
1) to develop an understanding of the complex relationship between women, crime and society;
2) to be able to knowledgeably analyze rhetoric surrounding women's criminality and women's victimization.
3) to identify strategies to address women’s victimization and criminality.

Course requirements:

This class will be treated as an advanced undergraduate/introductory graduate level course. As such, students are expected to come to each class prepared, to avail themselves of additional information on the topic, and to complete all assignments in a timely manner. There are no additional requirements for graduate students, although higher evaluation standards will be used in grading their materials.

Exam: There will be a take-home final exam in the class. The exam is worth 100 points and will consist of short answer and long answer essay questions.

Reaction Papers: You will respond in writing to course materials five times during the semester. Each of these 2-3 page reaction papers should be an informed critique of the readings, lectures, or discussion topics. Potential topics can be found in the course schedule in the form of discussion questions (see below). Two of your reaction papers should deal with the Maher and the Dunn books. In addition, a book review of a contemporary book on women, crime and justice can be substituted for one of the other reaction papers. A bibliography of acceptable titles will be distributed on the electronic bulletin board (see below). To do a book review, however, you must follow the guidelines for a book review (see the instructor for details). Graduate students MUST complete a book review in lieu of one of the reaction papers. Note: There are 6 reaction papers noted in the course schedule; only 5 are required. Each reaction paper is worth 20 points.

Electronic bulletin board: Students will be expected to respond on-line to class discussion, readings, or lectures every week by posting their comments to the on-line class bulletin board. Your postings are each worth 5 points (60 points possible). The Web Bulletin Board can be accessed at: http://wb.lib.siu.edu/~soc461. You need to access this website and sign in as a new user and follow the directions from there. See the instructor if you have questions. You can also use this board to ask for clarification of assignments or to talk privately with a fellow classmate about a group activity.

Discussion Questions: The course schedule lists 23 discussion questions for the course. Two students will be assigned to each discussion question. On the assigned date, students responsible for the discussion questions will be required to lead class discussion on the issue based upon their own informed answer to the question. I do NOT expect students to work together to prepare their answers. If the student posts their written response to the discussion question to the class electronic bulletin board at least 2 days prior to the discussion AND leads discussion in class while presenting their own opinion, the student can earn up to 40 points. The posting may also count for one of the required 12 postings to the electronic bulletin board.

Final policy paper: Students will be expected to develop a 8-10 page paper on a topic related to the class. As a policy paper, each paper should present a recommendation to address some aspect of women's relationship with crime, either as victims, offenders, prisoners, or workers. The specific topic must be approved by the instructor by February 27th. Each paper should use a minimum of 10 academic sources. Your final paper is worth 100 points. Late papers will lose 10 points per day. More information will be distributed about the paper assignment later.

Class Participation: Attendance is not required nor rewarded. Regular, cogent participation in class activities, however, is worth 25 points. Participation will be evaluated in terms of frequency and quality.

Course policies:

1. Grades: Final grades are determined by combining all points earned and referring to the following scale: A = 358-400 points
B = 318-357 points
C = 278-317 points
D = 238-277 points
F = fewer than 238 points

2. Make-ups and late assignments: In-class activities can not be made up. Exams can only be made up with a written excuse from a qualified professional. Late papers lose 10% of their worth each day they are late.

3. Cheating/Academic Dishonesty: College and university regulations regarding plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty will be upheld in this course. If you are not familiar with the definitions and consequences of cheating or with your rights, refer to your Student Handbook or see an academic advisor. I will choose from among the sanctions possible in the university regulations. These sanctions include, inter alia, failure on the assignment and failure in the class. Do NOT plagiarize on any assignment for the class.

ANTICIPATED COURSE AND READING SCHEDULE:
B= Belknap; D= Dunn; M= Maher

Date Topic Assigned Reading
Jan 14-16, 2003 INTRODUCTION B: Ch 1

VICTIMIZATION
Jan 21-23 Victimization Theory and the Female Victim B: Ch 6

Jan 28 Sexual Victimization B: Ch 7
Question 1: What services are available for a sexual assault victim in this community (campus and city)? Are these services sufficient?

Question 2: What policies exist at SIUC that respond to a member of the university community (administrators, faculty, staff, or students) who has committed or been charged with sexual assault? Are these policies appropriate?
Question 3: Should sexual victimization that takes place within a family (e.g. incest, marital rape) be treated differently by the CJ system than sexual victimization that is stranger or acquaintance based?
Question 4: Do we live in a rape culture?
Question 5: Why are women victimized, according to feminist theory? (Choose one type of feminism for your answer)

Jan 30 Reaction Paper 1 due.

Feb 4-6 Domestic Violence B: Ch 8
Question 6: What services are available for a domestic violence victim in this community (campus and city)? Are these services sufficient?
Question 7: What policies exist at SIUC that respond to a member of the university community (administrators, faculty, staff, or students) who has committed domestic violence? Are these policies appropriate?
Question 8: Are definitions of domestic violence sufficiently clear to allow for appropriate CJ processing?

Feb 11 Domestic Violence, cont.; Reaction Paper 2 due.

Feb 13 Living Stalking D: Ch 1-2

Feb 18 Defining Stalking D: Ch 3-4
Question 9: Are there specialized services available for a stalking victim in this community (campus and city)? Are these services sufficient?
Question 10: What unique policy issues are related to stalking on college campuses?
Question 11: What aspects of U.S. society encourage stalking?
Question 12: What aspects of U.S. society discourage a CJ or official response to stalking?
Question 13: How does an individual know if they are a stalking victim?

Feb 20 Reaction Paper 3 due.

Feb 25 Worthy Stalking Victims D: Ch 5

Feb 27 Concluding thoughts on women victims; Paper Topic due.

WOMEN CRIMINALS

Mar 4- 6 Theories of Women’s Criminality B: Ch 2; M: Ch 1
Question 14: To what extent do biological differences explain the differences in male and female criminality?
Question 15: Predicting the future: If U.S. society becomes more equal (in terms of gender) over the next 50 years, will the women’s liberation theory be supported?
Question 16: Predicting the future: will the reasons for female involvement in criminality change over the next 50 years?

Mar 18 Reaction Paper 4 due.

Mar 20 Nature of Female Offending B: Ch 3; M: Ch 2
Question 17: Within the same category of crime (e.g. homicide, theft), are women’s and men’s crimes the same?
Question 18: Are current crime data collection procedures adequate to assess female offending?
Question 19: Predicting the future: what will happen to female crime rates over the next 50 years?

Mar 25 Women Criminals in the System B: Ch 4
Question 20: Why does chivalry and paternalism exist in the CJ system?

Mar 27 Crime as Work; Reaction Paper 5 due. M: Ch 3-4

Apr 1-3 Sexed Crime M: Ch 5-6
Question 21: What is the relationship between criminality and femininity?
Question 22: How does victimization lead to criminality in Maher’s work?
Question 23: How does the concept of work relate to female criminality?

Apr 8 Multiple Oppressions; Reaction Paper 6 due M: Ch 7-8

Apr 10 cont.

Apr 15 Women in Prison Project B: Ch 5

Apr 17 No Class: Library Research Day

FEMINIST JURISPRUDENCE

Apr 22 Women in the law TBA

Apr 24 cont.; POLICY RESEARCH PAPER DUE

Apr 29-May 1 Concluding Thoughts B: Ch 11

Wed, May 7, 3:10-5:10 p.m. FINAL EXAM DUE