CJ 244 : CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM AND ACTIVISM

This course explores the complexities of the criminal justice system as a social problem, including its historical development, policies, and contemporary issues. Students will use a critical constructionist lens to examine various aspects of the criminal justice system, from policing and law enforcement to the courts and corrections. In doing so, we will highlight how attempts to reform parts of the criminal justice system have both challenged and reinforced aspects of the status quo, and explore the resulting expansion of the carceral state via alternatives to the traditional mechanisms of social control. We then consider the different proposals promoted by scholars and activists as possible avenues to reform, remake, or abolish various components of the criminal justice system.