Family, Delinquency, And Crime
I have covered some of the basic, founding philosophers of criminology and sociology in some of my previous psychology and political science courses, including courses I took in high school. Also, I am an avid follower of court proceedings in the popular media -- not simply sensationalist 'true crime' stories but also serious coverage of constitutional rights, Supreme Court cases, and methods of crime prevention in major cities like New York City.
The question of what causes juveniles to commit crimes has always been interesting to me, because many theories seem to suggest in some instances that a child's environment can have a profound effect upon the likelihood of the child engaging in criminal behavior as an adolescent. Gang violence and peer pressure seem to cause many teens to adopt antisocial behaviors, which they then abandon when they have left or are taken out of the environment. On the other hand, some children commit horrifying crimes, seemingly without provocation, even though they have had a relatively normal family upbringing. Less dramatically, in my own personal experience I have known people who have engaged in minor acts of delinquent behavior, for no apparent reason, and I have (successfully, I believe) had to deal with peer pressure to engage in antisocial acts.
In this course I would like to learn more about the juvenile justice, theories of why young people commit crimes, and how someone's family influences the likelihood that they will commit a crime. On a persona level, I am interested in family law in general, since so many of my friends come from divorced homes and have had to deal with the family court system. I think the course would prove useful in many fields I might choose to enter, including education, social work, the law, or law enforcement.
