III. Weekly Assignments 1. For each article: present a) the main theoretical points; b) unit of analysis and sample; c) major findings; and d) implications of the findings for the theory being tested. 2. Each assignment must be typed (pc or typewriter). 3. The maximum length of each article review is 1.5 pages (normal fonts, absolutely no exceptions). Outline: This schedule is subject to change, depending on how quickly we move through the material. January 24th: Introduction to No Readings: (handout) January 31st: Foundational Theory Required Readings: 1) Merton (1938). “Social Structure and Anomie.” American Sociological Review 3:672-682. 2) Wirth (1938). “Urbanism as a Way of Life.” American Journal of Sociology 44:1-24. 3) Mayhew and Levinger (1976). “Size and Density of Interaction in Human Aggregates.” American Journal of Sociology 82:86-110. 4) (1997). “Modeling the Relationships Between Macro Forms of Social Control.” Annual Review of Sociology 23:39-61. 5) Chamlin and Cochran (2005). “Ascribed Economic Inequality and Homicide Modern Societies: Toward the Development of a Cross-National Theory.” Homicide Studies 9:3-29. February 7th: Measuring Crime: What do crime measures measure? Required Readings: 1) Hindelang et al., (1979). “Correlates of Delinquency: The Illusion of Discrepancy Between Self-Report and Official Measures.” American Sociological Review 44:995-1014. 2) McCleary et al. (1982). “Uniform Crime Reports as Organizational Outcomes.” Social Problems 3) Gibbs and Erickson (1976). “Crime Rates of American Cities in an Ecological Context.” American Journal of Sociology 82:605-620. 4) Chamlin and Cochran (2004). “An Excursus on the Population Relationship.” Western Criminological Review 5:119-130. 5) Rotolo & Tittle (2006). “Population Size, Change, and Crime in U.S. Cities.” Journal of Quantitative Criminology 22:341-367.
5) Chamlin and Cochran (2007). “An Evaluation of the Assumptions that Underlie Institutional Anomie Theory.” Theoretical Criminology 11:39-61. March 7th: Informal Social Control 1) Cohen and Felson (1979) “Social Change and Crime Rate Trends: A Routine Activity Approach.” American Sociological Review 44:588-608. 2) Sampson and Groves (1989). “Community Structure and Crime: Testing Social-Disorganization Theory.” American Journal of Sociology 94:774-802. 3) Messner and Sampson (1991). “The Sex Family Disruption, and Rates of Violent Crime.” Social Forces 69:693-713. 4) Sampson (2003). “The Neighborhood Context of Well-Being.” Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 43(3-Supplement):S53-S64. 5) Hipp (2010). “A Dynamic View of Neighborhoods.” Social Problems 57:205-230. March 14th: SPRING BREAK - NO CLASS 21st: Cultural Theories 1) Hackney (1969). “Southern Violence.” The American Historical Review 74: 906-925. 2) Gastil (1971). “Homicide and a Regional Culture of Violence.” American Sociological Review 36: 3) Colvin et al. (2002). “Coercion, Social Support, and Crime.” Criminology 40:19-42. 4) Chamlin and Cochran. (1997). “Social Altruism and Crime.” Criminology 35: 203-228. 5) Worrall (2009). “Social Support and Homicide.” Homicide Studies 13:124-143. March 28th: Blalock, Lynching, and Testing Macro-Social Theory Required Readings: 1) Tolnay, et al. (1989). “Black Lynchings.” Social Forces 67:605-623. 2) Reed (1989). “Comment on Tolnay, Beck, and Massey.” Social Forces 67:624-625. 3) Creech et al. (1989). “Theory Testing and Lynching.” Social Forces 67:626-630 4) Blalock (1989). “Percent Black and Lynchings Revisted.” Social Forces 67:631-633
5) Tolnay et al. (1989). “The Power Threat Hypothesis and Black Lynchings.” Social Forces 67:634-640. April 4th: Conflict Theory I Required Readings: 1) Liska (1994). “Modeling the Conflict Perspective of Social Control”, Inequality, Crime and Social Control eds. Bridges and Myers, pp.53-71. 2) Spitzer (1975). “Toward A Marxian Theory of Deviance.” Social Problems 22:638-651. 3) et al. (1994). “The Rate of Surplus Labor and Crime.” Crime, Law and Social Change 21: 15-48. 4) Chamlin (2009). “Threat to Whom?” Deviant Behavior 30:539-559. April 11th:Conflict Theory II 1) Liska and Chamlin (1984). “Social Structure and Crime Control Among Macrosocial Units.” American Journal of Sociology 90:383-395. 2) Jackson and Carroll (1981). “Race and the War on Crime.” American Sociological Review 46:290-305. 3) Inverarity and Grattet (1989). “Institutional Response to Unemployment.” Contemporary Crises 4) et al. (2002). “Racial Threat and Social Control.” Social Forces 81:557-576. 5) Parker and Rice (2005). “Racial Threat, Concentrated Disadvantage and Social Control.” Criminology 43:1111-1134. April 18th: Macro-level Determinants of Policing Resources and Behavior Required Readings 1) Jackson (1986). “Black Visibility, City Size, and Social Control.” The Sociological Quarterly 27:185-203. 2) Zhao and Lovrich (1998). “Determinants of Minority Employment in American Municipal Police Agencies” Journal of Criminal Justice 26:267-277. 3) Stucky, (2005). “Local Politics and Police Strength.” Justice Quarterly 22:139-169. 4) Stults and Baumer (2007). “Racial Context and Police Force Size.” American Journal of Sociology 113:507-546.