Criminology and Social Justice
Overview
As a criminology and social justice major, you will train to become familiar with criminological theory and how it applies to our understanding of crime, social responses to perceptions of crime and deviance, and the processes necessary to achieve racial, gender, environmental, and institutional justice locally and globally. Students will work towards equity and human dignity in all of their chosen career paths, as well as be prepared to become agents of change towards a more just and equitable society.
Please review the recommended sequence of courses.
Fast Facts
Student outcomes outlined for the program include graduates fully comprehending three key objectives:
- The biased and complex nature of how justice systems carry out mandates and how these affect individuals and communities
- A theoretical understanding of the causes and inhibitors of crime in society that includes ordinary street crimes as well as crimes caused by complex social systems (such as justice systems, social welfare systems, and financial institutions) and legitimate institutions
- In-depth knowledge of possible avenues to safeguard communities from crime and citizens from human rights abuses from agents and entities with power.
Students have interned at
Students have interned at:
- Asun Star
- The New Essecare, LLC
- Behavioral Health and Substance Abuse Services
- S.O.F.I.A. (Start Out Fresh Intervention Advocates)
- NJCDC (New Jersey Community Development Corporation)
You could be...
You could be …
A community service manager: Median pay $64,680 per year. Social and community service managers coordinate and supervise social service programs and community organizations. They manage staff who provide social services to the public.
A social worker: Median pay $46,890 per year. Social workers help people solve and cope with problems in their everyday lives. Clinical social workers also diagnose and treat mental, behavioral and emotional issues.
A police officer: Median pay $61,600 per year. Police officers protect lives and property.
A correctional officer: Median pay $42,820 per year. Correctional officers are responsible for overseeing individuals who have been arrested and are awaiting trial or who have been sentenced to serve time in jail or prison.
Nonprofit director: Median pay $64,086 per year. Nonprofit directors are equivalent to a CEO for a nonprofit organization. They are responsible for strategy, daily operations of the organization and working closely with the board of directors.
(Source: bls.gov and payscale.com)
Requirements
Criminology and Social Justice
Division
Program Type
Roadmap
Criminology and Social Justice Recommended Series of Courses
Courses
Faculty
- B.A. M.A. Ph.D.University of Wisconsin
Dr. Esmail Najmi is a Professor of Sociology and the Chair of the Division of Social and
Behavioral Sciences. He has a B.A. in Film Studies and a Ph.D. in Sociology, both from
the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His areas of interest include social theory, class
analysis, sociology of culture/media, social revolutions, and research methods.
Courses Taught:
Statistics for Sociologists
Methods of Social Research
Classical Sociological Theory
Social Inequality
Selected Topics in Sociology (Punishment and Society; Digital Media and Social Life;
Power, Domination, and Modern Institutions; Contemporary US Society; and Cinema
and Society).
- B.A.Warren Wilson College;
- M.A.Queens College, City University of New York;
- Ph.D.The Graduate Center, City University of New York
Natascia Boeri
Ph.D., Graduate Center, City University of New York
B.A., Warren Wilson College
Courses taught:
Introduction to Sociology
Social Problems & Public Solutions
Theory and Practices in Human Services
Methods of Social Science Research
Senior Capstones (Senior Seminar, Fall Internship)
Special Topics (Gender & Social Policy, Women & Leadership)
Dr. Boeri is an Associate Professor of Sociology, and specializes in gender, work, and social policy. Her current research is on mothers who use opioids and barriers to health and social services. Her work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and she was a 2015-2016 American Association of University Women Dissertation Fellow. She is an active member of the Sociologists for Women in Society, and has represented SWS as a delegate to the United Nations numerous times. Dr. Boeri’s teaching style emphasizes experiential learning and she is a strong supporter of undergraduate student research. Her publications can be found on Google Scholar.
- B.S. M.A. M.Phil. Ph.D.New York University
Ph.D. New York University
Courses taught:
- Deviance & Social Control,
- Criminal Justice & Race
- Prison Industrial Complex
- Sociology Spring Internship
Interests:
- Social justice activism
- B.A.Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;
- M.A. M.Phil. Ph.D.New York University
Vânia Penha-Lopes
Vânia Penha-Lopes is Professor of Sociology at Bloomfield College. She is also co-chair of the Brazil Seminar at Columbia University (2008-present) and was a member of the executive committee of the Brazilian Studies Association-BRASA (2010-14). A native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Dr. Penha-Lopes graduated with honors from the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro with a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences (1982). She is also a graduate of New York University, with a Master’s degree in Anthropology (1987) and a Ph.D. in Sociology (1999). As a post-doctoral fellow at the Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (2006-07), she did research on the first graduating class of Brazilian university quota students. She has received a number of awards, including the Carter G. Woodson Institute Predoctoral Fellowship in Afro-American and African Studies, from the University of Virginia (1996-98), and the Scholarship for Study Abroad from the Encyclopaedia Britannica do Brasil (1982), of which she was the youngest recipient. Dr. Penha-Lopes has lectured extensively on comparative race relations, African American fatherhood, and racism in Brazil and has been interviewed for articles in Diverse Issues in Higher Education, O Estado de São Paulo, and The Washington Post. Her work has been cited in a number of books on race relations, in textbooks, and in peer-reviewed articles. In addition to a number of articles, Dr. Penha-Lopes is the author of Confronting Affirmative Action: University Quota Students and the Quest for Racial Justice (2017), Pioneiros: Cotistas na Universidade Brasileira (2013), and co-editor of Religiosidade e Performance: Diálogos Contemporâneos (2015).
- B.S.Cornell University;
- J.D.Brooklyn Law School
- B.F.A.University of North Carolina;
- M.A.New School for Social Research;
- Ph.D.Rutgers University
- B.S. Ph.D.Cornell University
- Ed.D.Fairleigh Dickson University
- M.S.Queens College, CUNY
- B.S.York College, CUNY
Program Learning Goals (PLGs)
- Define, identify, explain and develop a knowledge of, and sensitivity to, issues concerning various marginalized populations.
- Define, describe and differentiate various schools of Criminological thought and apply them in explanations of a variety of criminal behavior and victimizations.
- Define what social justice is, and the challenges to it, and evaluate research and social Justice Initiatives and their effects on different disenfranchised populations.
- Integrate their knowledge of criminology and crime prevention strategies with that of social justice strategies in order to formulate solutions to crime and social based inequities in society for different populations.