ERIC Number: EJ1140161
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Apr
Pages: 7
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0092-055X
EISSN: N/A
Interrupting Constructions of a Criminalized Other through a Revised Criminal Activities Checklist Classroom Exercise
Woodall, Denise
Teaching Sociology, v45 n2 p161-167 Apr 2017
A self-report questionnaire about past criminal behavior is presented here as a useful pedagogical tool to demonstrate the invalidity of crime rates, challenge stereotypes about criminals, exemplify policy problems, and personalize the ways in which race, gender, and class operate to disadvantage and advantage people in the administration of justice. Philip Reichel's 1975 criminal activities checklist exercise, first published in "Teaching Sociology," is updated pursuant to the Georgia 2016 criminal code. Additions include new laws around technology use (i.e., sexting, privacy, and piracy laws), substance use (pharmaceuticals and minor alcohol possession), criminalized driving offenses (aggressive driving and DUIs), and sex offenses. I found that most students in my classroom have violated a law. These findings, the findings of others who have administered similar checklists, and growing research suggest that crime commission is more the norm rather than the exception, and this gives instructors great opportunities to challenge student assumptions.
Descriptors: Questionnaires, Crime, Teaching Methods, Stereotypes, Criminals, Social Attitudes, Public Policy, Racial Bias, Gender Bias, Social Bias, Social Justice, Check Lists, Sociology, Information Technology, Substance Abuse, Motor Vehicles, Sexual Abuse, Likert Scales, College Students, Consciousness Raising
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Georgia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A