Valerie Jenness Theories of Crime (C235)

Criminology, Law and Society Fall 2001

School of Social Ecology Tu. 6:00-8:50 p.m.
2340 Social Ecology II SE II 2327
824-1437 (office) Office hrs.: Tues. 1-3 p.m.
e-mail: jenness@uci.edu or by appointment

THEORIES OF CRIME

COURSE OBJECTIVE: The goal of this course is twofold: 1) to familiarize you with various
theories of crime and crime control; and 2) provide you with systematic ways to evaluate the
merits of theories of crime and crime control. To do this, the course is organized around two
central questions, both of which loom large in contemporary criminology: 1 ) why are select
types of conduct categorized and treated as criminal; and 2) why do people engage in criminal
behavior? In addition to addressing these substantive questions, we will assess the degree to
which current theories of crime and crime control merit commendation or condemnation. The
bottom line: this course is as much as much about evaluating theory as it is about knowing
theories of crime.

COURSE CONTENT: Consistent with the course objective, this course is designed to provide you
with a general understanding of some of the main theoretical perspectives that dominate
contemporary criminology, as well as some of the perspectives that offer challenges to
mainstream criminology. Since no single theoretical position can adequately account for the
production of categories of crime, the perpetration of crime, and control of criminal behavior,
this course will focus on diverse explanations of each. In the process, we will: 1) focus on both
classical and contemporary approaches to the study of crime; 2) identify the range of theoretical
approaches in the scholarly literature, including recent attempts to integrate theoretical
approaches; and 3) assess the strengths and limitations of these approaches.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Along with attending class and reading the required material, the
following tasks constitute course requirements:
1. Three papers (each worth 15% of your grade): Each student will be expected to turn in three
critical reviews of select reading material. These papers should focus on select themes of the
course (see course outline below), draw on readings that are not “required,” resemble good book
reviews in scholarly journals (i.e., those that engage the work, rather than just report on the
work), be no more than seven typed and double-spaced pages in length, and turned in no later
than the beginning of the class session in which we are discussing the topic. Feel free to see me
for assistance during the week prior to the paper being due. I’ll be glad to discuss your paper as
you prepare to submit it.
2. A take-home final examination (25% of your grade): This exam will include a series of essay
questions that require students to demonstrate a solid understanding of the various theoretical
perspectives discussed throughout the semester, as well as an ability to think critically and to
synthesize course material. The final is due no later than December 3, 2001 at 9:00 a.m.
3. Class participation (20% of your grade): Every student will be expected to participate fully in
the class. In addition to reading the assigned material such that he/she can contribute to class
discussion, each student is expected to 1) submit a thoughtful and provoking discussion question
deriving from the reading on the class listserve each week at least one day in advance of the

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seminar (i.e., no later than the Monday @ 6:00 p.m. prior to the class meeting on Tuesday); and
2) submit a recently published article (i.e., published within the last five years) that relates to the
topic of the week at the beginning of the class. For example, when we discuss control theory, I
have already submited “Parenting, Self-Control, and Delinquency: A Test of Self-Control
Theory” (2001), by Carter Hay, which is one of the most recently published test of this theory.
The question you submit should help inspire and focus class discussion and the article you
submit should indicate an awareness of how each theoretical perspective is being
treated/tested/elaborated in the literature.
4. Presentations (10% of your grade): On at least one occasion, you will be called upon to take
primary responsibility for leading the class discussion. With the help of at least one classmate
and the instructor (me), each student will present material that speaks to the theme or topic of the
week. Ideally, each presentation should include an overview of the assigned reading, integration
of additional readings, identification of the key issues raised in the reading material, and, most
importantly, a strategy for getting others in the class involved in the discussion. Since you will
not be told in advanced when you will be "in charge" of the class discussion (i.e., when you will
be a "panelist" or "partner"), you should always be prepared. However, since it is unreasonable
to expect every student to be prepared on every occasion, each student will get the opportunity to
"pass" (without explanation) on one occasion of their choosing.

REQUIRED READING: Along with the articles identified on the course outline below, the following
books constitute required reading:
Crime and Coercion: An Integrated Theory of Chronic Criminality, Mark Colvin
Suicide: A Study in Sociology, Emile Durkheim
Crime as Structured Action: Gender, Race and Crime in the Making, James
Messerschmidt
The Criminology Theory Reader, edited by Stuart Henry and Werner Einstadter
Criminological Theories: Introduction and Evaluation, Ronald Akers
A General Theory of Crime, Travis Hirschi and Michael Gottfredson
Crime, Shame, and Reintegration, John Braithwaite
Seductions of Crime: Moral and Sensual Attractions of Doing Evil, Jack Katz
Making Crime Pay: Law and Order in Contemporary American Politics,
Katherine Beckett

COURSE OUTLINE AND READINGS: The following outline indicates what we will be doing
this quarter and when. Dates and topics are not chiseled in stone; all topics and dates are
tentative and subject to change. If changes have to be made, they will be announced in
class in advance.

COURSE OUTLINE
I. INTRODUCTION: THEORIES AND THEORIZING
A. Overview of the course (Week 1)
1. Division of labor for the course
2. Suggestions for success in the course
3. Introductions to personnel in the course
B. Theories (Week 2)

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1. “Introduction to Criminological Theory (Chapter 1), Ronald Akers

in Criminological Theories: Introduction and Evaluation (1997),
Ronald Akers
2. “Forward,” “Preface,” and “Introduction” to all of the assigned
books
3. A criminology textbook of your choice
C. Theorizing (Week 2)
1. "The Assumption that General Theories are Not Possible" (1985),
Charles Tittle in Theoretical Methods in Criminology, edited by
Robert Meier
2. “Exploring Alternatives to Integrated Theory" (1989), Travis
Hirschi in Theoretical Integration in the Study of Deviance and
Crime: Problems and Prospects, edited by Steven Messner,
Marvin Krohn, and Allen Liska

II. A FOCUS ON STRUCTURE

A. Social Structure and Anomie (Week 3)
1. Suicide: A Study in Sociology (1933;1951), Emile Durkheim
2. “Social Disorganization, Anomie, and Strain Theories” (Chapter
7), Ronald Akers in Criminological Theories (1997), Ronald Akers
3. “Evolutionary Theories of Legal Change: Maine and Durkheim”
(Chapter 2), John R. Sutton in Law and Society: Origins,
Interactions, and Change (2001)
B. Contemporary Strain Theory (Highly Suggested Supplementary
Reading/Week 3)
1. "Foundation for a General Strain Theory of Crime and
Delinquency," Robert Agnew in Criminology 30:47-87; but see
also chapter in The Criminology Theory Reader (1998), Stuart
Henry and Werner Einstadter
2. "An Empirical Test of General Strain Theory" (1992), Robert
Agnew and Helene Raskin White in Criminology 30:475-499
C. Conflict, Marxist, and Critical Approaches (Week 4)
1. “Law, Class Conflict, and the Economy: Marxian Theory (Chapter
3), John R. Sutton in Law and Society: Origins, Interactions, and
Change (2001)
2. “Conflict Theory” (Chapter 8), Ronald Akers in Criminological
Theories (1997), Ronald Akers
3. “Marxist and Critical Theories” (Chapter 9 ), Ronald Akers in
Criminological Theories (1997), Ronald Akers
4. “State Organized Crime,” William Chambliss in The Criminology
Theory Reader (1998), Stuart Henry and Werner Einstadter
5. Making Crime Pay: Law and Order in Contemporary American
Politics (1997), Katherine Beckett

III. A FOCUS ON STRUCTURE AND INTERACTION

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Jenness/Fall 2001 Theories of Crime

A. Social Learning Tradition (Week 5)

1. “Social Learning Theory” (Chapter 4), Ronald Akers in
Criminological Theories (1997), Ronald Akers
2. “The Stooper: A Professional Thief in the Sutherland Manner,”
John Rosecrance in The Criminology Theory Reader (1998), Stuart
Henry and Werner Einstadter
3. “Is Differential Association/Social Learning Cultural Deviance
Theory?, Ronald Akers in The Criminology Theory Reader (1998),
Stuart Henry and Werner Einstadter
4. ”Denying the Guilty Mind: Accounting for Involvement in a White
Collar Crime,” Michael Benson in The Criminology Theory
Reader (1998), Stuart Henry and Werner Einstadter
B. Social Control Approaches (Week 6)
1. “Social Bonding and Control Theories” (Chapter 5), Ronald Akers
in Criminological Theories (1997), Ronald Akers
2. A General Theory of Crime, by Michael Gottfredson and Travis
Hirschi (1990)
3. “Parenting, Self-Control, and Delinquency: A Test of Self-Control
Theory” (2001), Carter Hay in Criminology 39:707-736
C. Social Control and Career Crime/Criminals (Highly Suggested
Supplementary Reading/Week 6)
1. Crime in the Making: Pathways and Turning Points Through Life
(1993), by Robert J. Sampson and John H. Laub
2. "Crime and Deviance in the Life Course" (1992), Robert J.
Sampson and John H. Laub in Annual Review of Sociology 18:63-
84
3. "Turning Points in the Life Course: Why Change Matters to the
Study of Crime" (1993), John Laub and Robert Sampson in
Criminology 31:301-326
D. Labeling Perspective (Week 7)
1. “Labeling Theories” (Chapter 6), Ronald Akers in Criminological
Theories (1997), Ronald Akers
2. “The Homogenization and Differentiation of Hate Crime Law in
the United States, 1978-1995: Innovation and Diffusion in the
Criminalization of Bigotry” (1998), Ryken Grattet, Valerie
Jenness, and Theodore Curry in American Sociological Review
63:286-307.
3. Crime Shame and Reintegration (1989), John Braithwaite

IV. A FOCUS ON STRUCTURE, INTERACTION, AND CONTEXT

A. Moral Transcendence (Week 8)
1. Seductions of Crime: Moral and Sensual Attractions of Doing Evil
(1988), Jack Katz
B. “Doing Crime” (Week 8)

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1. Crime as Structured Action: Gender, Race, and Crime in the

Making (1997), James Messerschmidt

V. INTEGRATED THEORY
A. Recent Examples of Integration (Week 9)
1. “Integrating Criminological Theories” (Chapter 11), Ronald Akers
in Criminological Theories (1997), Ronald Akers
2. Crime and Coercion: An Integrated Theory of Chronic Criminality
(2000), Mark Colvin
3. (Review) Crime Shame and Reintegration (1989), John
Braithwaite

B. Dilemmas and Issues (Highly Suggested Supplementary Reading/Week 9)

1. "Strategies and Requisites for Theoretical Integration in the Study
of Crime and Deviance" (1989), Allen Liska, Marvin Krohn, and
Steven Messner in Theoretical Integration in the Study of
Deviance and Crime: Problems and Prospects, edited by Steven
Messner, Marvin Krohn, and Allen Liska
2. "Exploring Alternatives to Integrated Theory" (1989), Travis
Hirschi in Theoretical Integration in the Study of Deviance and
Crime: Problems and Prospects, edited by Steven Messner,
Marvin Krohn, and Allen Liska
3. "Theory Integration Versus Model Building" (1989), Margaret
Farnworth in Theoretical Integration in the Study of Deviance and
Crime: Problems and Prospects, edited by Steven Messner,
Marvin Krohn, and Allen Liska
4. "Towards an Integrated Theory of Criminal Behavior" (1989),
Charles Wellford in Theoretical Integration in the Study of
Deviance and Crime: Problems and Prospects, edited by Steven
Messner, Marvin Krohn, and Allen Liska
5. Theoretical Integration in the Study of Deviance and Crime:
Problems and Prospects (1989), edited by Steven Messner, Marvin
Krohn, and Allen Liska

VI. CRITICS AND CHALLENGERS

A. Thinking about “Critical Criminology” (Week 10)
1. “Time for an Integrated Critical Criminology” (1998), Gregg
Barak in Cutting the Edge: Current Perspectives in
Radical/Critical Criminology and Criminal Justice, edited by
Jeffrey Ian Ross
B. Feminist Critiques (Week 10)
1. “Feminist Theories” (Chapter 10), Ronald Akers in Criminological
Theories (1997), Ronald Akers

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2. “Gender, Crime and Criminology” (Chapter 3), Kathleen Daly in

The Handbook of Crime and Punishment, edited by Michael
Tonry.
3. Caste, Class, and Violent Crime: Explaining Difference in Female
Offending,” Sally Simpson in The Criminology Theory Reader
(1998), Stuart Henry and Werner Einstadter
4. Razing the Wall: A Feminist Critique of Sentencing Theory,
Research, and Policy” (1998), Jeanne Flavin in Cutting the Edge:
Current Perspectives in Radical/Critical Criminology and
Criminal Justice, edited by Jeffrey Ian Ross
5. ”Crossroads and Intersections: Building from Feminist Critique”
(1998), Kathleen Daly and Lisa Maher in Criminology at the
Crossroads, edited by Kathleen Daly and Lisa Maher
6. “Feminism in Criminology: Endgendering the Outlaw” (2000),
Dana Britton in Annals of the American Academy of Political and
Social Science
C. Postmodernist and Constitutive Theory (Week 10)
1. “Stumbling Toward a Critical Criminology (and into the Anarchy
and Imagery of Postmoderism)”(1998), Jeffrey Ferrell in Cutting
the Edge: Current Perspectives in Radical/Critical Criminology
and Criminal Justice, edited by Jeffrey Ian Ross
2. ”Postmodern Thought and Criminological Discontent: New
Metaphors for Understanding Violence (1994), Martin Schwartz
and David Friedrichs in The Criminology Theory Reader (1998),
Stuart Henry and Werner Einstadter
3. "Constitutive Criminology: The Maturation of Critical Theory,”
Stuart Henry and Dragan Milovanivic in The Criminology Theory
Reader (1998), Stuart Henry and Werner Einstadter.
4. "Back to Basics: A Postmodern Redefinition of Crime" (1993),
Stuart Henry and Dragan Milovanovic in The Critical
Criminologist 5:1-2,12
5. "Postmodernism and Critical Criminology" (1990), Alan Hunt in
New Directions in Critical Criminology, edited by Brian MacLean
and Dragan Milovanovic.
VII. CRITIQUE AND RECONSIDERATION

A. Where have we been? (Week 10)

1. Review entire syllabus
2. Review discussion questions

B. Where are we? (Week 10)

1. Review entire syllabus
2. Peruse the last five years of Criminology

C. Where are we going? (Week 10)

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1. Peruse a recently published Criminology textbook.

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