Sociology 495 - Spring, 2005

Sociology 495                         Instructor: Jim Thomas
Spring, 2005                          Office: 807 Zulauf
Time: Variable                        Phone: (815) 753-6436 (off)
Classroom:  TBA                       (815) 756-3839 (home)
Credit: 3 hours                       Email:  jthomas@sun.soci.niu.edu


This course, designed for students wishing an indepth understanding
of prisons and prison issues, will be organized around prison trips,
discussions, readings, and practical activities. Although we will focus
primarily on Illinois prisons and jails, other states may be included if
an opportunity arises.

To enroll in this class, students must have had a C or better in 
Sociology 388, or be members of the NIU student chapter of the American
Correctional Association, or have departmental permission.

Required Texts and Readings (tentative) 
 
James B. Jacobs: Stateville: The penitentiary in mass society
Foucault: The Carceral (From "Discipline and Punish"
Zaitzow and Thomas: Women in Prison: Gender and Social Control
Mary Bosworth (selections): Engendering Resistance
Lorna Rhodes: Supermax (selected readings)
Lorna Rhodes: Conversations in prison
Kafka: The Trial
Sartre: No Exit
Pirandello: Selected plays
Class Handous & Net URLs and IDOC information
Additional Readings as assigned

Current Events
 
Grading:
   Two exams (midterm & final):  100 points EACH
   Final term paper:  (150 points)
   Prison trips:      (200 points) (We will take at least 8; 
                       4 are required (50 points each)
   Short response papers (required for prison trips to earn 50 points each) 
   Class and project participaton: (50 points)
   WebBoard:           (50 to 100 points)
  -------------------
  Total:  600 points   (grading will be done on straight 90/80/70 scale)
 

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