Abstract
The best interdisciplinary courses are those that not only expand a student’s consciousness but also increase a student’s options. A course in criminal justice and literature can give criminal justice students a broader philosophical basis for work in their profession and metaphors for understanding their discipline. For humanities students, it can reveal the extent to which literature reflects social conditions and criminal justice theories and practices. With this in mind, the authors, professors of criminal justice and English, respectively, designed and taught an experimental course that integrates topics in criminal justice with topics in literature. This article details the philosophies and goals behind this undertaking and describes the specific course objectives, readings and other instructional materials used, and the teaching methods and evaluation procedures employed. Also included are the results of a research survey which explored student perceptions of and reactions to the course. The article concludes by offering suggestions and cautionary advice that would be helpful for those interested in setting up such a curriculum.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baudelaire, C.Selected poems. (J. Richardson, Ed.) New York: Penguin, 1975.
Dante.The Norton anthology of world masterpieces. (4th ed.). (M. Mack, Ed.) (Vol. 1), New York: Norton, 1980.
Dickens, C.American notes and pictures from Italy. New York: Dutton, 1970.
Dow, P.E.Criminology in literature. New York: Longman, 1980.
Fielding, H.Jonathan Wild. New York: New American Library, 1961.
Hogarth, W.The complete works. London and New York: The London Printing and Publishing Co., nd. c. 1870.
Kafka, F.The trial. New York: Vintage, 1969.
Reid, S.T.Crime and criminology. (2nd ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1979.
Shakespeare, W.Shakespeare: The complete works. (D. Bevington, Ed.) New York: Scott, Foresman, 1980.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hirschel, J.D., McNair, J.R. Integrating the study of criminal justice and literature. AJCJ 7, 75–98 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02887351
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02887351