What causes delinquent and criminal behavior? Throughout history, numerous theories have emerged that range from body type to the most minute biological aberration. This course is an introduction to criminology which examines classical and positivist schools of thought; psychological explanations and sociological theories; and biological and biosocial concepts. Students will study crime phenomenon and typologies; social structure and interaction theories of crime causation; and integrated approaches that combine victimization, criminality and justice.

Novelists and artists identify issues ahead of scholars and historians. Freud said artists predated everyone by 25 years. U.S. history abounds with examples of novelists confronting human, social, emotional and economic problems before politicians and philosophers. This program explores how such novels foreshadowed later events by placing them in historical and cultural context, tracing impact and consequences. Lectures supplement and amplify the works. Unlike literary study, the novels are primary sources illuminating anticipation of important social, cultural and intellectual developments emphasizing race, class and gender issues.