READING ASSIGNMENT #1–CHAPTER 1: Race, Ethnicity and Crime: America’s Continuing Crisis & CHAPTER 2: Victims and Offenders: Myths and Realities about Crime
Date Due: FEBRUARY 12, 2023
Possible Points: 100
Project Duration: 6- 8 hours
Deliverable Length: 2-3 pages
Please respond to ONE of the questions from each chapter. Each response should be 300 words or more. Your responses should be in your own words submitted via Turnitin thru canvas. Any assignment that shows signs of plagiarism or any tool of cheating will receive a “Zero”.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
CHAPTER 1
1. Is there systematic discrimination in the criminal justice system or not? You have read brief statements on two sides of the issue. Which ones did you find most interesting? Why?
2. What are the differences between race and ethnicity? Give some examples that illustrate the differences.
3. When social scientists say that the concept of race is a “social construct,” what exactly do they mean?
CHAPTER 2
1. Does the media systematically discriminate against crime victims, favoring white victims? Or is the discrimination contextual (see Chapter 1)? How does the media cover racial hoaxes? Does this coverage perpetuate the view of young African American males as the typical criminal offenders?
2. What are some of the possible explanations for the overrepresentation of minorities as crime victims? Are minority communities particularly vulnerable to crime? Why?
3. What are the social and psychological costs of racial hoaxes? What do you think? Should states have racial hoax sentence enhancement statutes? What should the content of such legislation be?