RC Minors

The past thirty years have seen a dramatic increase in prison populations — fueled by the centrality of crime and fear of crime to American politics. This academic minor melds concepts from the history of crime and criminal law, theories of crime and punishment, and societal circumstances that propel unequal demographics of criminality.

Students wishing to pursue an academic minor in Crime and Justice must develop a specific plan for its completion in consultation with the program's designated advisor. Appointments may be scheduled at the RC Academic Services Office, 1816 East Quad, or by calling (734) 763-0032.

Prerequisites to the Academic Minor: None for the Academic minor per se, although individual courses elected to meet the requirements of the academic minor may have course prerequisites.

Academic Minor Program

A minimum of five courses (at least 15 credits), to be elected from categories as stated:

1. Core Course: SOC 368.

2. Electives. One course from each of the following three areas (at least two of which must be at the 300-level and above).

No more than three courses may be selected from any single department or program.

Contexts and Social Perspectives on the Problems of Crime and Punishment

AAS 262 / HISTORY 272: The Modern Civil Rights Movement
AAS 303 / SOC 303: Race and Ethnic Relations
AAS 322 / ENVIRON 335: Introduction to Environmental Politics: Race, Class and Gender
AAS 324: Dealing with the Past : Doing Justice in Africa: South Africa, Rwanda, Sierra Leone
AAS 330 / RCSSCI 330: Urban and Community Studies, I
AAS 334 / AMCULT 336: Popular Culture in Contemporary Black America
AAS 420 / ANTHRCUL 347: Race and Ethnicity
AAS 426 Urban Redevelopment and Social Justice
AAS 434 / SOC 434: Social Organization of Black Communities
AAS 454 / ANTHRCUL 453 African-American Culture
AMCULT 304 / SOC 304: American Immigration
AMCULT 336 / AAS 334: Popular Culture in Contemporary Black America
AMCULT 337: A Survey of American Blues Music
AMCULT 369 / HISTORY 369: U.S. Mass Culture from Minstrelsy to Hip Hop
AMCULT 374 / HISTORY 374: Politics and Culture of the “Sixties”
AMCULT 399: Race in America
AMCULT 421 / SOC 423: Stratification
ANTHRCUL 347 / AAS 420: Race and Ethnicity
ANTHRCUL 453 / AAS 454 African-American Culture
ARCH 357 / UP 357 Architecture, Sustainability, and the City: Ideas, Force, and People Shaping the Built Environment
CEE 307 / ENVIRON 407: Sustainable Cities
COMM 318 / PSYCH 318: Media and Violence
ENVIRON 222: Introduction to Environmental Justice
ENVIRON 335 / AAS 322: Introduction to Environmental Politics: Race, Class and Gender
ENVIRON 407 / CEE 307: Sustainable Cities
ENVIRON 408: Land Use Policy, Law, and the Environment
HISTORY 272 / AAS 262: The Modern Civil Rights Movement
HISTORY 369 / AMCULT 369: U.S. Mass Culture from Minstrelsy to Hip Hop
HISTORY 374 / AMCULT 374: Politics and Culture of the “Sixties”
HISTORY 375 / WOMENSTD 375: History of Witchcraft: The 1692 Salem Trials in Historical and Cross-Cultural Perspective
PHIL 224: Global Justice
PHIL 355: Contemporary Moral Problems
POLSCI 307: Topics in American Political Thought
POLSCI 319: Politics of Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
PSYCH 318 / COMM 318: Media and Violence
RCSSCI 330 / AAS 330: Urban and Community Studies, I
SOC 303 / AAS 303: Race and Ethnic Relations
SOC 304 / AMCULT 304: American Immigration
SOC 423 / AMCULT 421: Stratification
SOC 434 / AAS 434: Social Organization of Black Communities
SOC 435: Urban Inequality and Conflict
UP 357 / ARCH 357 Architecture, Sustainability, and the City: Ideas, Force, and People Shaping the Built Environment
WOMENSTD 375 / HISTORY 375: History of Witchcraft: The 1692 Salem Trials in Historical and Cross-Cultural Perspective

Disciplinary Studies of the Problems of Crime and Punishment

AAS 248: Crime, Race, and the Law
AAS 450 / 451: Law, Race and the Historical Process I, II
ANTHRCUL 333: Non-Western Legal Systems
ANTHRCUL 428 / WOMENSTD 428 / RCSSCI 428: Sex Panics in the U.S. and UK since 1890
COMM 425: Internet, Society, and the Law
HISTORY 256 / JUDAIC 265: Introduction to Jewish Law: Sources, Legal History, and Legal Theory
HISTORY 257 / JUDAIC 257: Law in the Pre-modern World
HISTORY 345 / RCSSCI 357: History and Theory of Punishment
HISTORY 477: Law, History, and the Dynamics of Social Change
HISTORY 496: History Colloquium (appropriate topics may count, with permission)
HISTORY 497: History Colloquium (section titled “War on Crime / War on Drugs”; other appropriate topics may count, with permission)
JUDAIC 257 / HISTORY 257: Law in the Pre-modern World
JUDAIC 265 / HISTORY 256: Introduction to Jewish Law: Sources, Legal History, and Legal Theory
PHIL 359: Law and Philosophy
POLSCI 364: Public International Law
PSYCH 488 / SOC 465 / WOMENSTD 465: Sociological Analysis of Deviance
RCSSCI 357 / HISTORY 345: History and Theory of Punishment
RCSSCI 428 / ANTHRCUL 428 / WOMENSTD 428: Sex Panics in the U.S. and UK since 1890
SOC 270 / WOMENSTD 270: Gender and the Law
SOC 454: Law and Society
SOC 465 / PSYCH 488 / WOMENSTD 465: Sociological Analysis of Deviance
WOMENSTD 270 / SOC 270: Gender and the Law
WOMENSTD 428 / ANTHRCUL 428 / RCSSCI 428: Sex Panics in the U.S. and UK since 1890
WOMENSTD 465 / PSYCH 488 / SOC 465: Sociological Analysis of Deviance

Direct Encounters with the Problems of Crime and Punishment

ARTDES 312: Art Workshops in Prison
PSYCH 211: Project Outreach (not offered AY23/34)
RCCORE 301: Community-Based Internship – Semester in Detroit (appropriate placements)
and
RCCORE 302: Community-Based Internship Reflection Seminar
RCCORE 334: Special Topics (section titled “The Atonement Project”)
RCHUMS 334: Special Topics in the Humanities (section titled “Theater and Incarceration”)
THTREMUS 399: Topics in Drama (section titled “The Atonement Project”)

Seeking other electives that will fit the Crime and Justice Minor?
In addition to registering for specific approved courses, you can also look for courses being taught by approved instructors.

This is a list of professors who might be teaching a course related to this minor. Feel free to search their names in the course catalog for the upcoming term. If you think a given course fits the minor, you must get formal approval from the CJ minor advisor, Heather Thompson, before registering for that course. Please send the course description to: hthompsn@umich.edu

Akil, Huda: Neuroscience

Alexander, Amanda: DAAS and Law

Bright, Charles: RC and History

Christman, Philip: English

Countryman, Matthew: History and American Culture

Darby, Derrick: Philosophy

Davenport, Christian: Political Science

Draus, Paul: Sociology and Anthropology

Jackson, James: Psychology

Jacobson, Carol: Women’s Studies and Stamps

Krippner, Greta: Sociology

Lassiter, Matthew: History and American Culture

Lucas, Ashley: Theater and Dance and the RC

Meisler, Richard: American Culture

Mickey, Robert: Political Science

Miller, Reuben: Social Work and the RC

Mishkin, Alice Ogle: School of Social Work

Morenoff, Jeffrey: Sociology and Policy

Paul, Janie: Stamps and Social Work

Pinals, Debra: Psychiatry

Reingold, Paul: Law

Ryan, Joseph: Social Work

Santacroce Dasanta, David: Law

Sarri, Rosemary: Social Work

Savolainen, Jukka: Political and Social Research

Schlanger, Margo: Law

Starr, Sonja: Law

Sweeney, Megan: DAAS and English

Tapia, Ruby: Women’s Studies and English

Thacher, David: Policy and Urban Planning

Thompson, Heather Ann: DAAS, the RC, History

Ward, Stephen: DAAS and the RC

Wingfield, Isaac: The RC

Prerequisites

None for the Academic Minor per se, although individual courses elected to meet the requirements of the Academic Minor may have course prerequisites.

Requirements

Minimum Credits: 15

A minimum of 5 courses (at least 15-20 credits), to be elected from categories as stated:

1. Core Courses (both are required, and must be taken in sequence; ideally, the electives should be completed in the interval between taking RCHUMS 281 and 481):
   1. RCHUMS 281: Introduction to Comedy and Tragedy
   2. RCHUMS 481: Play Production Seminar.
2. Electives. Each student will select three electives in consultation with the T-t-P advisor. One course must be from Group A and two courses from Group B.

1. Texts and Scenes
   • RCHUMS 380: Greek Theatre.
   • RCHUMS 381: Shakespeare on the Stage.
   • RCHUMS 382: Molière and His Theatre.
   • RCHUMS 383: Ibsen and Strindberg.
   • RCHUMS 385: The Theatre of Bertolt Brecht.
   • RCHUMS 389: The Modern Theatre.
   • RCHUMS 390: Special Period and Place Drama.
2. The Varieties of Literature for the Theatre
   • RCHUMS 386 / MEMS 421: Medieval Drama.
   • AAS 341 / THTREMUS 222: Introduction to Black Theatre.
   • AAS 342 / THTREMUS 233: Acting and the Black Experience.
   • ASIAN 310: The Theater of China and Japan.
   • CLCIV 386: Greek Drama.
   • ENGLISH 267: Introduction to Shakespeare.
   • ENGLISH 349 / THTREMUS 323: American Theatre and Drama.
   • ENGLISH 367 / MEMS 367: Shakespeare's Principal Plays.
   • ENGLISH 368 / MEMS 368: Shakespeare and his Contemporaries.
   • ENGLISH 445: Shakespeare's Rivals.
   • ENGLISH 446: World Drama: Congreve to Ibsen.
   • ENGLISH 447: Modern Drama.
   • ENGLISH 448: Contemporary Drama.
   • GERMAN 320: German Expressionism in English Translation.
   • GERMAN 360: Art and Politics in the Weimar Republic.
   • GERMAN 381: Eighteenth to Nineteenth-century Drama.
   • GERMAN 382: Nineteenth to Twentieth-century Drama.
   • MEMS 367 / ENGLISH 367: Shakespeare's Principal Plays.
   • MEMS 368 / ENGLISH 368: Shakespeare and his Contemporaries.
   • MEMS 421 / RCHUMS 386: Medieval Drama.
   • ITALIAN 471: Italian Theater.
   • SPANISH 425: Latin-American Theater.
   • SPANISH 460: The Spanish Comedia.
   • SPANISH 468: Modern Spanish Theater.
   • RUSSIAN 463: Chekhov.
   • THTREMUS 222 / AAS 341: Introduction to Black Theatre.
   • THTREMUS 233 / AAS 342: Acting and the Black Experience.
   • THTREMUS 323 / ENGLISH 349: American Theatre and Drama.
   • THTREMUS 324: Contemporary Black Theatre.
   • THTREMUS 332: Performing Gender: Drama from Oral Sources.
   • THTREMUS 402: Ideas of Theatre: Dramatic Theory and Criticism.

Technology often precipitates the most drastic, most revolutionary changes in how societies and cultures engage one another. The Science, Technology, and Society (STS) minor helps students see beyond the veneer of policy issues to learn about the raw changes in our tools and methods. STS studies the ethical, environmental, and social implications of new tools and methods—and how these affect the developing world. Please note: RC Social Science concentrators may not elect this as a separate minor.

Learn more: https://lsa.umich.edu/sts/

As the nature of American communities continues to change, a more active study is demanded to address social issues. The Urban Studies minor allows students to engage their coursework from historical and theoretical perspectives— combined with practice in community service. The minor weaves together African-American Studies, social work, urban studies, and other fields. Please note: students must develop a specific plan for completion of this minor.