Fall 2004
Sociology 3341/Criminal Justice 4300/
Women’s Studies 3390
Homicide
Professor: Martha Smithey, PhD Teaching Assistant: Elizabeth Garibay, BA
Office:233 Liberal Arts (Women’s Studies) Office: 309 Vowell Hall
Telephone:747-6132 Telephone: 747- 6598
E-mail: E-mail:
Office Hours: Tues/Thurs 11-12:30 Office Hours: Tues/Thur 12 – 1:30
Or by appointment Or by appointment
- Course Objective:
The course objective is to survey current trends and patterns of homicide. Current criminological theory will be learned as explanations of these trends as well as issues involving homicide among different social groups and relationships. Finally, there will be a critical review of proposed strategies for preventing homicide.
II. Course Text:
Beeghley, Leonard (2003). Homicide: A Sociological Explanation. Rowan and Littlefield: New York. (B)
Shipley, Stacey L. and Bruce A. Arrigo (2004). The Female Homicide Offender: Serial Murder and the Case of Aileen Wuornos. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. (SA)
Course Reader. The reader can be purchased at Hard Copy in the UTEP Union Building. (CR)
III. Course Grading:
There will be three examinations each worth 25% of the final grade for this term. Each examination will be given on the date listed in Section IV. The format will be discussed prior to the first examination. Make-up examinations will not be given. If you miss an examination, you will be required to take a comprehensive final examination which will be weighted accordingly. Specifically, if you miss the first examination and take the second examination, the comprehensive final will be worth 50% of your final grade. If you take the first examination and miss the second examination, the comprehensive final will be worth 50% of your final grade. If you miss the first and second examinations, the comprehensive final will be worth 75% of your final grade.
Two five-page term papers are required. The first paper is worth 10% of the final grade is due Oct. 12. The second paper is worth 15% of the final grade and is due Nov 16. (See attached guidelines).
IV. Reading Assignments:
Section I. The Study of Homicide: Measuring Crime; Trends,
Patterns, and Social Groups
Aug 24Introduction to Course/The Law of Homicide
26 - 31CR: Suspicion of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome & Injuries to Infants: The
Effects of Type of Death Certifier, Training, and Economics
CR:Homicide Trends in the United States
Sep 2B:Homicide as a Routine Event
7B: How to Understand Homicide
9B:Homicide in Cross-National and Historical Perspective
14B:The American Dream and Homicide: A Critique
16 - 21B: Social Structure and Homicide
23 CR: African Americans and Homicide
CR: Latinos and Homicide
28CR: Gang Homicide
Sep 30Examination #1
Section II. Stranger Homicide; Mass Murder; Serial Murder; and Terrorism.
Oct 5 - 7CR: Stranger Murders and Assault: A Study of a Neglected Form of
Stranger Violence
CR: Serial Murders: Myths and Realities
CR: Chance or Choice? The Selection of Serial Murder Victims
Social Construction of Serial Murder
Oct 12Paper due
14 – 26SA:The Female Homicide Offender, Chapters 1 - 4 & 8
Oct 28Examination #2
Section III. Intimate Homicide: Partners, Children, and Infants
Nov 2CR: Murder as Self-help: Women and Intimate Partner Homicide
4CR: The Female Murderer
9CR: Assaults Between Intimates: The Range of Relationships Involved
11CR: “Given” Reasons for Violence in Intimate Relationships
Nov16Paper due
16- 18 CR: Infant Homicide at the Hands of Mothers: Toward a Sociological
Perspective
CR:Maternal Infanticide and Modern Motherhood
Section IV. Prevention and Social Change
Nov 23CR: Capital Punishment, Homicide, and Deterrence: An
Assessment of the Evidence
30B:Is Change Possible?