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Courses

Please note that not every course listed is offered each year and students should consult STU Self Service for current course offerings.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

CRIM-1013. Introduction to Criminology

This course is designed to introduce the student to the discipline of criminology: its origins, the nature of disciplinary debates, and a sampling of theoretical and methodological issues. It involves an examination of crime patterns, causes of criminal behaviour and crime prevention strategies. This course also introduces the student to core topics covered in electives in the second year: courts, young offenders, police, corrections, and victimology. This introductory course is a prerequisite for all upper-level courses.

CRIM-1023. Introduction to Criminal Justice

This course is designed to introduce the student to the role criminology plays in both formulating and critiquing criminal justice policy and a sampling of theoretical and methodological issues. It involves a critical look at the nature of the criminal justice system, the role of the state and the creation of policies through the passing of bills, legislation, and statutes pertinent to the interpretation of the Criminal Code. This course also introduces the student to core topics covered in electives in the second year: courts, young offenders, police, corrections, and victimology. This introductory course is a prerequisite for all upperlevel courses.

CRIM-2013. Early Criminological Theory

This course will be a survey course of classical theories in criminology. Classical theories will include the influences of work by early criminologists such as Bentham, Beccaria, Lombroso, Quetelet, and Durkheim in the development of theory and the history of theories of punishment. This course will build on the historical roots of crime and criminological theory in pre-20th century criminological theory. Prerequisites: CRIM 1013 and 1023.

CRIM-2103. Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to qualitative research methods. Students will learn the theoretical and epistemological foundations of qualitative methods and explore a number of data collection methods inherent to qualitative research, as well as critically evaluate and make appropriate use of secondary information sources. Prerequisites: CRIM 1013 and 1023.

CRIM-2113. Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods (POLS 2913)

This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to social science research methods and statistics as they apply to criminology and criminal justice issues. It aims to help students understand the fundamentals of the scientific method, including research design, sampling methodologies, measurement strategies, statistics, and data collection techniques, while assisting them in the development of the necessary critical thinking skills to critique and evaluate criminal justice research. Prerequisites: CRIM 1013 and 1023.

CRIM-2123. Criminal Law

This course provides an introduction to criminal law - what it is, how it came into being, and the various elements of offences and forms of defence within Canada's criminal law system. Possible topics include: sources of criminal law in Canada; duty to act; voluntariness; negligent homicide; causation; strict and absolute liability; attempts; and a variety of criminal defences, including mental disorder, mistake of fact, consent, provocation, and necessity. Prerequisites: CRIM 1013 and 1023.

CRIM-2223. Youth Justice (HMRT)

This course will examine theories of juvenile delinquency in historical and contemporary perspectives. A review of Canadian legislation concerning young offenders will be done to illuminate the official response to juvenile delinquency in light of the theories noted above. Special attention will be given to the Young Offenders Act, juvenile justice in Canada, the disposition of young offenders, and the rights of young adults. Prerequisites: CRIM 1013 and 1023.

CRIM-2233. Police and the Canadian Community

This course is designed to examine the social and political role of the police and police practices in the contemporary Canadian society. The topics that will be discussed include the functions and objectives of modern policing, police discretion, police powers, and structures of accountability. Particular attention will be given to an examination of the context of police - community relations and crime prevention initiatives. Prerequisites: CRIM 1013 and 1023.

CRIM-2243. Corrections

This course will provide a comprehensive review of the theories and history of corrections together with their implementation in Canada. Particular attention will be devoted to contemporary issues such as the trend from incarceration to community-based treatment, the diversion of young offenders, and electronic surveillance. Prerequisites: CRIM 1013 and 1023.

CRIM-2253. Crime and Society in Historical Perspective (HMRT)

This course examines how definitions of crime and the criminal have changed over time in Canada, and how the criminal justice system has dealt with crime and criminals. The course will also highlight the role that the State, criminal justice officials, and the media have played in defining crime and the criminal. From arson to zealots, the emphasis is on an examination of class, race, age, and gender as relations of power. Prerequisites: CRIM 1013 and 1023.

CRIM-2263. Children and Youth At Risk

This course will provide an analysis of the concept of at-risk children and youth from a theoretical and practical application. Considering the question of risk from an ecological framework as well as a constructionist perspective, individual and social factors which have an impact on children's and youth ability to cope with threats to their development will be critically evaluated. The literature on resilience in the context of both individual and social justice paradigms will also provide students an opportunity to consider various interventions designed to promote healthy development. Topics may include: youth homelessness, children of incarcerated parents, the impact of poverty on children and families, school drop outs, substance abuse, sport and leisure as crime prevention, bullying. Prerequisites: CRIM 1013 and 1023.

CRIM-2403. Criminalizing Women in Canada (WSGS)

This course critically examines, using a feminist lens, how gender informs women's experiences with crime and the criminal justice system in Canada. Topics to be covered include: intersections of race, class and gender, regulating women, incarceration, dominant ideological constructions of the female offenders, and recent popular culture representations of women and crime. Prerequisite: CRIM 1013 & CRIM 1023

CRIM-2443. Human Skeletal Biology (ANTH)

The focus of this course is the anatomy of the skeletal and skeletal muscular systems of the body. Students will learn the details of both the human and nonhuman skeleton in a concentrated lab format. Not open to first-year students.

CRIM-2463. Cultural Criminology

Cultural criminology places deviance and control in the context of culture. Through ethnography and cultural analysis, deviance and control are viewed as cultural products -- creative constructs to be read in terms of the meanings and emotions they embody. Students are challenged to question normative boundaries, and how cultural space is appropriated by power and challenged by transgression. Topics include modern anxiety, visual signifiers and emotion, found in such forms as graffiti, drug subcultures, base-jumping, street-racing or dumpster diving. Prerequisites: CRIM 1013 and 1023.

CRIM-2503. Diversity, Crime & Justice in Canada (WSGS)

This course examines the intersection of (in)equality, crime and social (in)justice in Canada through a criminology of difference and diversity. Through theoretical and practical material, the course explores how people experience crime and criminal (in)justice through multiple sites of diversity, such as age, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, social class, religion, etc. Prerequisite: CRIM 1013 & CRIM 1023

CRIM-2743. Social Protest in Canada (HMRT) (WSGS)

This course will explore, from an historical and contemporary perspective, social protest in Canada. Some of the topics that will be studied in this course include: Strikes and Riots; The Women's Liberation Movement; The Gay Liberation Movement; The Environmental Movement; the Counter-Culture Movement of the 1960s and 1970s and Student Protests; The Civil Rights Movement; Anti-War Demonstrations; and First Nations Protests. It will explain the reasons for and the nature of social protest and discuss how social protest groups have shaped the law, politics and popular culture in Canada. Prerequisites: CRIM 1013 and CRIM 1023.

CRIM-2943. Victimology (WSGS)

This course will examine this specialized field of criminology which is related to the study of victims of crime and factors connected to the victim. A historical perspective on the study of victimology, theories related to the explanation of victimization, the modern evolution of victim rights, and the development of victim services will be examined. Specific victim groups, provincial and federal legislation related to victims, the United Nations Charter of Victims Rights will be addressed, as well as the delivery of services to victims involved in the criminal justice system. Prerequisites: CRIM 1013 and 1023.

CRIM-3003. Special Topics in Crim & Crjs System (HMRT)

This course consists of an in-depth analysis of a specific topic in the field of criminology or criminal justice. The purpose is to provide a more detailed analysis of the topic by integrating theoretical and research applications. The course will be organized around the special interests of full time and visiting faculty to capitalize on the research and theoretical interests of the Department complement. Prerequisites: CRIM 1013 and 1023.

CRIM-3013. Contemporary Criminological Theory

This course will introduce students to 20th century criminological theories such as the Chicago School, strain theory, differential association theory, labelling theory, and critical criminology. The student's knowledge of classical, positive, and critical criminology will be applied to issues of social control and crime reduction. Prerequisites: CRIM 1013 and 1023.

CRIM-3103. Advanced Qualitative Research Methods

This course seeks to deepen students' understanding of qualitative research methods, such as research ethics in qualitative research, qualitative research design, interviewing, focus group interviews, participant observation and qualitative content analysis. Prerequisites: CRIM 2103.

CRIM-3113. Advanced Quantitative Research Methods: Statistics

This course is designed to provide students with an advanced look at applied social science research methods and statistics in criminology and criminal justice using SPSS. The course aims to help students develop practical skills in the design and execution of criminal justice research and to strengthen essential statistical understanding and data analysis skills.

CRIM-3123. Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice

This course is designed to provide an overview and analysis of contemporary controversies and issues pertinent to the criminal justice system and Canadian crime policy. Specific emphasis will be given to an examination of the influence that changes in social policy and shifting public sentiments about crime control have on both the structure and operation of various components of the criminal justice system. Prerequisites: CRIM 1013 and 1023.

CRIM-3143. Charter Rights and Criminal Justice

This course is an advanced look at the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Particular attention will be devoted to the effects of the Charter on criminal law making and its enforcement with reference to specific examples such as abortion, obscenity, pornography, capital punishment, unreasonable search and seizure, and pre-trial and detention rights. Prerequisites: CRIM 1013 and 1023.

CRIM-3153. Criminal Behaviour

This course examines the antecedents of, and responses to, criminal behaviour in the context of evidence-based practices in the assessment and treatment of at-risk and diverse offender populations within community and institutional contexts. Topics may include: offender risk assessment practices, major correlates of crime, effective correctional programming, best practices in the prediction and treatment of anti-social behaviour, and an understanding of the role of sound empirical strategies in contributing to what works in addressing criminal behaviour. Prerequisite: CRIM 2243: Corrections.

CRIM-3163. Perspectives on Missing Persons (WSGS)

This course investigates and theorizes issues relating to missing and murdered persons. Drawing from diverse fields including criminal justice, feminist/ criminology, sociology, forensic anthropology, critical victimology, and Indigenous studies, the course evaluates established and emerging policies and practices regarding documentation, investigation, prosecution, prevention, and commemoration of missing persons cases. The course critically analyzes colonialism, gender and violence as factors that place particular communities at risk.

CRIM-3203. Government & the Criminal Justice System

This course is an in-depth analysis of policy issues related to policing, courts, and corrections. Through an analysis of contemporary issues facing the criminal justice system in Canada, students will examine the links between the police, politics, law, and the administration of justice. Further, students will explore the roles and responsibilities of various government departments and agencies, non-government agencies, and community organizations affiliated directly and indirectly with the criminal justice system to gain a greater understanding of how to access resources and services for persons affected by the criminal justice system. This is a required course for students enrolled in the Bachelor of Applied Arts in Criminal Justice and is open to students in Criminology. Pre-requisities: CRIM 1013 and CRIM 1023.

CRIM-3223. Criminal Procedure

This course provides an overview of the organizational structure and functions of the court system in Canada. The theory and practice of bail, legal representation, prosecution, the trial, sentencing, and the appeal process will be covered. Prerequisites: CRIM 1013 and 1023.

CRIM-3233. Advanced Law Enforcement

This course is designed to provide a critical look at law enforcement issues beyond traditional police activities. The emphasis will be on contrasting the modest territorial scope and technological needs claimed through the rhetoric of community policing while technological advances push societies toward greater global integration. Law enforcement agencies are compelled to follow suit and come together in highly technological, national, and international partnerships. Prerequisite: CRIM 2233.

CRIM-3243. Advanced Criminal Law

This course builds upon the introduction to criminal law offered in CRIM 2123: Criminal Law, focusing on some of the more complex aspects of Canada's criminal legal system, including examinations of modes of participation in criminal offending as well as various available defences to criminal charges. Topics may include: aiding and abetting, conspiracy, self-defence, intoxication, entrapment, duress, mistake, and consent. There will also be some comparative analyses of international crimes such as genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture, and terrorism. Prerequisites: CRIM 2123.

CRIM-3253. Pre-Honours Workshop

The goal of this course is the completion of an Honours thesis proposal to be included as part of the Honours application. Topics to be covered include: writing a research question, research methodology and measurement, selecting and using an adequate theory, and writing and submitting a proposal. Completion of this course does not ensure admission into the Honours program. Students are expected to have completed (or be enrolled) in the prerequisite courses for the Honours program prior to taking the Pre-Honours Workshop. Entrance to the course is by permission of the instructor.

CRIM-3263. Crime and the Media

This course involves the analysis of crime in the media, focusing on such vehicles as television crime shows, newsmagazine documentaries, newspaper reports and the worldwide web. Methodological and theoretical approaches to be used include discourse and content analysis, triangulation, critical criminology, social constructionism, and critical contextual analysis. Topics include terrorism, gendered violence, hate crime, crime waves, serial homicide, police crime, and youth crime. Prerequisites: CRIM 1013 and 1023.

CRIM-3273. Crime in Popular Film

This course will explore popular and primarily American film from a criminological perspective, paying particular attention to how we understand crime through film. Such themes as what is a crime film?, criminology in crime films, police films, court room films, and prison films will be explored. At the conclusion of this course, students should be able to critically evaluate film and the relationships between crime and society portrayed through popular film. Prerequisites: CRIM 1013 and 1023.

CRIM-3283. Crime Prevention

This course will explore three approaches to crime prevention - primary, secondary and tertiary, that reduce the likelihood of crime and/or fear of crime in society. Using both academic and policy documents to explore ways in which agents of the criminal justice system and the community embark on strategies to reduce crime, students will evaluate the effectiveness of such strategies as crime prevention through environmental design, crime mapping, target hardening, deterrence, crime prevention through social development and public education. Topics may include: identity theft, cyberbullying, bioviolence. Prerequisites: CRIM 1013 and 1023.

CRIM-3403. Discourse and Crime

This course introduces students to the power and impact of discourse in criminology. The discourses of crime will be critically analyzed through such topics as interviews, interrogations, testimony, written accounts, judicial interpretations, and media accounts. Prerequisite: A minimum of 75 credit hours, which includes CRIM 1013 and 1023, or permission of the instructor.

CRIM-3503. Wrongful Conviction!

Wrongful convictions undermine the legitimacy premise that accused persons are innocent until proven guilty under the law. This course focuses on reasons and factors contributing to wrongful convictions: eyewitness identification, jailhouse informants; and looks at outcomes and legislations that have been enacted to prevent and remedy these legal/social injustices. This course explores how police, expert witnesses, prosecutors, defence lawyers, juries, trial judges and defendants contribute to wrongful convictions; and how that can be remedied. Prerequisites: CRIM 1013 and 1023.

CRIM-3513. Organized Crime

This course is designed to provide a critical look at the phenomenon of organized crime. The appearance of organized crime in place and time, its various definitions, and the forms it takes, such as Mafias, triads, posses, cartels, and biker gangs, will be examined. Organized crime will be situated in the larger socio-cultural context where its institutional assessment and media portrayal will be analyzed. Prerequisites: CRIM 1013 and 1023.

CRIM-3563. Visual Criminology

This course is a pantheonic study of how visuals are used in research, media, evidentiarism, teaching, and artistic representations of crime. Visual technologies study forensic evidence, examine photographs for identification and images for content, and are used to record criminal events. The course re/collects visual data for analysis using visual teaching technologies to create a critical reflection on lived experience. Prerequisites: CRIM 1013 and 1023.

CRIM-3643. Terrorism: An Introduction

This course provides a survey of issues related to terrorism and global conflict wherein students will be able to discuss social, political, economic and cultural roots of terrorism. In particular, this course will develop an appreciation of the complex motivations producing terrorism, as well as the unusual character and significant trade-offs that are induced by governments to minimize the impact of terrorism. Prerequisites: CRIM 1013 and 1023.

CRIM-3703. Toxic In/Justice: Green Criminology (ENVS)

This course is designed to study harms against the environment writ large, and actions designed to protest and protect against those harms. Topics include environmental pollution in nature, home and workplace; relevant law and policy; corporate crimes against humanity; and, environmental protest and justice movements. Prerequisites: CRIM 1013 and CRIM 1023 or permission of the instructor.

CRIM-3803. Child and Youth Rights (HMRT)

This interdisciplinary course focuses on the implementation of articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, specifically provision rights (e.g., health care, education), protection rights (e.g., from abuse, neglect, exploitation), and participation rights (e.g., in families, schools) with a particular emphasis on the implementation of these articles in Canada. Prerequisites: CRIM 1013 and CRIM 1023

CRIM-3843. Corporate Crime and Corporate Regulation

This course will provide an overview and critical analysis of corporate crime and its regulation in Canada. The course will examine: the problems of definition of corporate crime; the images, measurement and victims of such crime; the types of corporate crime; theories and perspectives on the etiology of corporate criminality and corporate crime; the origins of the laws against corporate crime and contemporary legislative lawmaking in this field; the effectiveness of policing and regulation of corporate crime; and various reforms proposed to deal with such crimes in the future. Prerequisites: CRIM 1013 and 1023

CRIM-3933. Independent Study in Criminology

Students may undertake independent studies under the direction of a member of the criminology faculty with the permission of the Chair. The course is limited to students of proven academic merit. It is expected that students will have a clear idea of their area of study and they will be expected to submit a written proposal about the selected topic including a preliminary bibliography, a clear articulation of the research topic, and an argument justifying the topic as an independent course of study. Determination of the credit value of the proposed course of study will be decided in consultation with the faculty member involved..

CRIM-3936. Independent Study in Criminology

Students may undertake independent studies under the direction of a member of the criminology faculty with the permission of the Chair. The course is limited to students of proven academic merit. It is expected that students will have a clear idea of their area of study and they will be expected to submit a written proposal about the selected topic including a preliminary bibliography, a clear articulation of the research topic, and an argument justifying the topic as an independent course of study. Determination of the credit value of the proposed course of study will be decided in consultation with the faculty member involved.

CRIM-3953. Peacemaking Criminology and Restorative Justice

This course critically examines the philosophical, spiritual, and sociological bases of peacemaking criminology and restorative justice theory and practice. Also discussed will be particular restorative justice initiatives and other alternatives to the current retributive criminal justice model. Students who have already completed CRIM 4123 are not eligible to take CRIM 3953 for credit.

CRIM-4003. Special Topics: Defunding the Police - Rhetoric Vs. Reality

This course will provide an overview and critical analysis of the debate and call to defund the police. Through close examination of weekly readings and central themes (such as anticolonial abolition; police use of force; and police abolition and Black revolt), students apply their critical thinking skills to separate rhetoric from reality. The course pivots around three central questions: 1) What does it mean, conceptually, to defund the police? 2) What does defunding the police look like at the police and community level? 3) What implications are there for police judgement and action towards racialized and Indigenous communities? Pre-requisite: CRIM 2233.

CRIM-4006. Honours Research Seminar

This course provides a collaborative work forum for those students who have been formally accepted into the Honours Programme. The course has two components. The first is a series of special topics taught by faculty on such issues as professional ethics, special topics in theory and methods, writing a research report, and passing ethics review. In addition, a number of thesis related assignments will guide the student through the research process: preparing a formal bibliography, research proposal with research design, and a peer presentation on their proposed research. Prerequisite: CRIM 2253 and formal acceptance into the Honours program.

CRIM-4013. Honours Seminar

This course provides a collaborative work forum for students accepted into the Honours program. The course is comprised of a number of thesis related assignments that will guide students through the process of researching and writing their Honours thesis, including a peer presentation on their Honours research topic. This course will also allow students to explore some of the central themes and concepts in the discipline of criminology. Prerequisite: Formal acceptance into the Honours program.

CRIM-4113. Advanced Data Analysis

This course is designed to provide students with an advanced look at applied social science research methods and statistics in criminology and criminal justice using SPSS. The course aims to help students develop practical skills in the design and execution of criminal justice research and to strengthen essential statistical understanding and data analysis skills. Prerequisite: A minimum of 75 credit hours, which includes CRIM 1013 and 1023, CRIM 2113, or permission of the instructor.

CRIM-4133. International and Comparative Criminal Justice

This seminar course compares criminal justice systems in a variety of jurisdictions and examines the development of international criminal law. The course is designed to provide students with a better understanding of the different legal and institutional approaches to crime. Topics include an analysis of reactions to crime, criminal behaviour, correctional philosophies, and the role of international legal bodies in the area of extraordinary criminal offences. Prerequisites: A minimum of 75 credit hours, which includes CRIM 1013 and 1023, or permission of the instructor.

CRIM-4143. Hate Crime (HMRT)

This course will encourage students to critically evaluate social and legal positions and theories about hate crime, including research on victimization and offences. Possible topics include how hate crime is conceptualized, the organization and impact of hate movements, victim resistance, and social activism. Prerequisite: A minimum of 75 credit hours, which includes CRIM 1013 and 1023, or permission of the instructor.

CRIM-4153. Advanced Studies in Youth Justice Policy

The focus of this seminar will be a critical analysis of the interplay between government initiated programming and social policy for children and youth and the ideological foundations upon which they are based. The content of the course will reflect current controversies as well as faculty and student interests. Topics may include: social control theory and juvenile justice; an assessment of theories of rehabilitation; the legal philosophy of the young offenders legislation and its impact on juvenile justice; and an evaluation of zero tolerance policies, anti-bullying campaigns, curfews, school codes of conduct, and other policies which lead to more state intervention in the lives of young people. Students will select a key area of youth policy and programming to conduct an applied research project. Prerequisite: A minimum of 75 credit hours, which includes CRIM 1013 and 1023, or permission of the instructor.

CRIM-4233. Policing, Security, and Governance

This course is designed to provide a critical look at law enforcement issues beyond traditional police activities. The emphasis will be on contrasting the modest territorial scope and technological needs claimed through the rhetoric of community policing while technological advances push societies toward greater global integration. Law enforcement agencies are compelled to follow suit and come together in highly technological, national, and international partnerships. Prerequisite: A minimum of 75 credit hours, which includes CRIM 1013 and 1023, or permission of the instructor.

CRIM-4273. Advanced Studies in Crime In Popular Film

This seminar course provides students the opportunity to use and hone concepts and skills introduced in 3273 through a focused, in depth examination of a specific aspect of crime in popular film. Topics vary from term to term and could include: the development of women in crime films or race in crime films; specific genres such as, the gangster film or cop film; directors, ie: Alfred Hitchcock or Martin Scorsese; the critical importance of film remakes; etc. Prerequisite: A minimum of 75 credit hours, which includes CRIM 3273, or permission of the instructor.

CRIM-4403. Feminist Legal Studies (HMRT) (WSGS)

In this course, students will be exposed to a critical evaluation of women and criminology. Possible topics include social and legal responses to the victimization of women, social and legal intervention strategies, criminological discourses on women's criminalized behaviour, offence patterns, and women in criminology. Prerequisite: A minimum of 75 credit hours, which includes CRIM 1013 and 1023, or permission of the instructor.

CRIM-4423. Power and Control in Society

This course will introduce students to writings on the nature of power, subjectivity, and governance, with a special focus on order(ing) in modern society. Prerequisite: A minimum of 75 credit hours, which includes CRIM 1013 and 1023, or permission of the instructor.

CRIM-4513. Ethnography and Crime

This seminar course will examine classical and contemporary ethnographic work in criminology and criminal justice. It will address qualitative research in general and how ethnographic research challenges common perceptions of crime, criminals and criminal behaviour. Prerequisite: A minimum of 75 credit hours, which includes CRIM 1013 and 1023, or permission of the instructor.

CRIM-4906. Honours Research Thesis

This course is the written component of the Honours thesis project. The Honours thesis may be of an empirical, conceptual, or applied nature. The Honours students accepted into the programme will have been working closely with a faculty member who has agreed to be a supervisor, and develop an Honours thesis. This course is recommended only for those pursuing graduate school. Prerequisite: formal acceptance into the Honours Programme.