SUP-745: The Myths of Public Safety: Race, Inequality, and the U.S. Criminal Legal System

During this course, we will interrogate the myths that justify and sustain the U.S. criminal legal system and that shape dominant discourses of 'public safety.' From policing to reentry, we will examine how institutions reproduce racial inequities while claiming to reduce crime and protect communities. Drawing on critical theory, sociology, criminology, political science, legal studies, and abolitionist thought, we will ask the following: Who benefits from these myths? What do they obscure? And how do they structure policy, practice, and everyday life? Students will analyze theoretical frameworks alongside empirical research, assess the limits of reformist approaches, and explore survivor-centered and abolitionist alternatives that seek to generate genuine safety and equity.

Also jointly offered with the Sociology Department as SOCIOL 2745.