Previous Teaching Experience
Neighborhoods and Crime: In this graduate seminar, students review the relevant literature that examines the relationship between neighborhood context and criminal behavior, alongside the influences of neighborhood effects on delinquent behavior and general well-being. The material will include the classic texts that first situated crime in an ecological context through the most recent empirical literature, both quantitative and qualitative, that tries to thoroughly explore the association between neighborhood patterns and crime. Throughout the semester, students will address an important consideration with neighborhood & crime research: what is the relationship between structure, culture, and agency, expressed at the neighborhood level, and how does empirical research attempt to study such relationships?
Crime and Public Policy: This graduate course addresses how the policies that structure the response to crime in the United States have shaped the opportunities available to individuals, families, and communities that come into contact with the criminal justice system. Students will develop an understanding of techniques used for evaluating policies as well as currently debated policy areas including incarceration and the appropriate response to crime, strategies to address the collateral consequences of criminal justice involvement, and intersections between family and urban policies and the criminal justice system. Particular attention will be paid to how crime related policies exacerbate or mitigate social inequalities on the basis of race, class, and gender in order to develop a sociological perspective on the planning and evaluation of crime policy
Crime and Community: This course will focus on understanding why crime varies across neighborhoods and communities, and the implications of crime for individuals within those communities. Students will discuss the ways in which the community is associated with involvement in crime, as well as how contexts most susceptible to criminal behavior develop over time. Students will be introduced to prominent criminological theories improving our understanding of why some communities and neighborhoods have more crime than others, and we will incorporate other perspectives to examine the intersection between individuals and their surroundings.
Criminology: This course is designed to introduce students to the definition, causes, responses, and sociological study of crime. The course is divided into three units, each addressing a different central question: (1) what is crime and how do we study it, (2) how can we explain criminal behavior, and (3) how does society respond to crime. The first unit covers how sociologists and criminologists define and study crime, with a central focus on developing an understanding of how certain behavior become classified as crimes and trends in crime. We will then examine and contrast theories of crime and criminal activity. In this unit you will develop skills to critically interpret and analyze different explanations for why crime occurs. The final section of the course will focus on responses to crime- including formal responses through the criminal justice system and societal responses- paying particular attention to how the theories we covered inform responses. In this last section, we will also consider the effectiveness and fairness of efforts to combat crime in the United States.
Social Problems: This discussion based course analyzes the causes and consequences of key issues facing U.S. society. The course covers the process of defining social problems, with particular attention to how public policy shapes both problems and responses. Students develop the skills to distinguish between objective and subjective claims, critically analyze debates around social problems, and situate individual experiences within broader historical and social context.
Neighborhoods and Crime: In this graduate seminar, students review the relevant literature that examines the relationship between neighborhood context and criminal behavior, alongside the influences of neighborhood effects on delinquent behavior and general well-being. The material will include the classic texts that first situated crime in an ecological context through the most recent empirical literature, both quantitative and qualitative, that tries to thoroughly explore the association between neighborhood patterns and crime. Throughout the semester, students will address an important consideration with neighborhood & crime research: what is the relationship between structure, culture, and agency, expressed at the neighborhood level, and how does empirical research attempt to study such relationships?
Crime and Public Policy: This graduate course addresses how the policies that structure the response to crime in the United States have shaped the opportunities available to individuals, families, and communities that come into contact with the criminal justice system. Students will develop an understanding of techniques used for evaluating policies as well as currently debated policy areas including incarceration and the appropriate response to crime, strategies to address the collateral consequences of criminal justice involvement, and intersections between family and urban policies and the criminal justice system. Particular attention will be paid to how crime related policies exacerbate or mitigate social inequalities on the basis of race, class, and gender in order to develop a sociological perspective on the planning and evaluation of crime policy
Crime and Community: This course will focus on understanding why crime varies across neighborhoods and communities, and the implications of crime for individuals within those communities. Students will discuss the ways in which the community is associated with involvement in crime, as well as how contexts most susceptible to criminal behavior develop over time. Students will be introduced to prominent criminological theories improving our understanding of why some communities and neighborhoods have more crime than others, and we will incorporate other perspectives to examine the intersection between individuals and their surroundings.
Criminology: This course is designed to introduce students to the definition, causes, responses, and sociological study of crime. The course is divided into three units, each addressing a different central question: (1) what is crime and how do we study it, (2) how can we explain criminal behavior, and (3) how does society respond to crime. The first unit covers how sociologists and criminologists define and study crime, with a central focus on developing an understanding of how certain behavior become classified as crimes and trends in crime. We will then examine and contrast theories of crime and criminal activity. In this unit you will develop skills to critically interpret and analyze different explanations for why crime occurs. The final section of the course will focus on responses to crime- including formal responses through the criminal justice system and societal responses- paying particular attention to how the theories we covered inform responses. In this last section, we will also consider the effectiveness and fairness of efforts to combat crime in the United States.
Social Problems: This discussion based course analyzes the causes and consequences of key issues facing U.S. society. The course covers the process of defining social problems, with particular attention to how public policy shapes both problems and responses. Students develop the skills to distinguish between objective and subjective claims, critically analyze debates around social problems, and situate individual experiences within broader historical and social context.
Research Methods: From surveys to ethnography, program evaluation to study design, effective and ethical research methods are the key to sociological research. This course identifies strengths and weaknesses of different research approaches and equips students with the tools to critically interpret research and design future studies.
Multiple Regression: This course takes a practical approach to introduces PhD students to multivariate regression using Stata. Students learn how to use complex data to conduct quantitative studies.
Multiple Regression: This course takes a practical approach to introduces PhD students to multivariate regression using Stata. Students learn how to use complex data to conduct quantitative studies.