Executive Summary III: Anomie and Strain Theories of Crime
Instructions:
Drawing on readings from the Anomie and Strain Theories of Crime section of the course, students are to submit a critical summary of this paradigm. Students are firmly expected to incorporate all of the assigned readings into their summaries, as they were included as a required reading because they are viewed as crucial readings within these paradigms. As outlined in the course syllabus, each critical summary is expected to accomplish a number of objectives, and as such, will not have a specific page requirement. In particular, each summary should address the following dimensions:
Historical Background:
Here, students should provide an articulation of the social/historical factors that led to the emergence of the paradigm. What is the intellectual history that helped generate this theory/paradigm?
Central Assumptions:
What are the key assumptions of each theory or perspective? In other words, what are the central assumptions with regard to human nature, society and social order, the definition/nature of crime, the image of the criminal, and criminality – i.e., what causes crime?
Core Concepts and Propositions:
What are the central propositions/statements (or assumptions) associated with each perspective. Here, most theories articulate a series of statements or propositions as to what causes criminal behavior. Moreover, be able to identify the key historical figures that articulated these assumptions or statements.
Policy Implications:
Arguably, this is the most important component of theory or paradigm. Each theory has a series of policy ramifications that should be put into practice, if the theory is valid. If the causal logic is in fact valid, what can we do to contain, control, and predict criminal behavior? These policies may not be something that you necessarily are in agreement with, but you should be able to articulate these recommendations. Moreover, chances are there is empirical research that has already evaluated some of the components of a paradigm that has been placed into public policy? What were their results? What have they found with regard to the prediction and control of criminal behavior?
Critical Summary/Evaluation:
As a graduate student in the field of criminology/criminal justice, you are no longer passive consumers of information; you are expected to have the capacity to evaluate and produce as well. Hence, upon consuming copious amounts of material (readings, journal articles, etc.) associated with each paradigm, students should be able to provide a brief, critical analysis, assessment, or evaluation of each paradigm. This will include the perceived strengths, weaknesses, major contributions, and empirical state (i.e., support) of each paradigm.
Format:
As mentioned in the course syllabus, there is no specific page requirement for these summaries. That being said, students should be keenly aware that they are expected to incorporate course readings into their summaries. The summaries should be typed, single-spaced, with a double space between each new paragraph or heading. The summaries should have 1” margins throughout the document. All students must use 12-point, Times New Roman Font.
Grading Procedures:
The assignment will be evaluated based on how well the student captures the central issues/focus of each perspective, as outlined above. I do not have a formal rubric that I use for these types of assignments, but they should loosely meet all of the expectations articulated in the preceding paragraphs. Moreover, it goes without saying that the assignments should adhere to all of the popular conventions of the English language, and be virtually free of all egregious grammatical/spelling errors.
