SOC 453 - POLITICAL CRIME

College of Arts and Sciences

Credit(s): 3

This course will investigate two categories of crime that are often overlooked in criminology courses, but that are nonetheless prevalent in the U.S. and around the world. Political crimes are illegal acts carried out against governments, such as espionage and terrorism; whereas governments are the perpetrators of state crimes, such as corruption and genocide. This course will review the state of our knowledge about these crimes and examine their similarities and differences to ‘street’ crimes. It will assess how well we can explain these types of crimes and identify gaps in our knowledge that necessitate further research.

Prereq: Six credit hours from the list of classes the college accepts for the social science requirement or consent of instructor.
Approved for Distance Learning.