A new degree program in Brock University’s Department of Sociology is launching in fall 2020.<\/p>\n
Students interested in criminology will have the ability to\u00a0look beyond crime and punishment and explore larger issues of surveillance, criminalization, interpersonal and structural violence, and more. The Honours BA in Critical Criminology will expose students to criminology in the broader context of theories of justice and equity \u2014 an important distinction both in the field and in the Faculty of Social Sciences.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis degree deepens the Faculty\u2019s academic focus on the intersections of social justice, criminal justice, law and its reform, and social inequalities,\u201d said Kate Bezanson, Associate Dean, Undergraduate Studies in the Faculty of Social Sciences.<\/p>\n
Bezanson, who is also an Associate Professor of Sociology, says the new program draws on the strengths of the department\u2019s existing popular concentration in criminology and its robust offerings in political economy, policy and analyses of social inequality.<\/p>\n
As a result, students can expect to graduate equipped with advanced training in theory and methods, as well as applied and practical experience, in order to become leaders in areas such as law, policy, research and data analysis, and public accountability arenas in the Niagara region and beyond.<\/p>\n
Ingrid Makus, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, is eager to welcome the first students into the program.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis\u00a0new program advances both the Faculty\u2019s and the University\u2019s\u00a0strategic priorities of\u00a0providing students with programming that\u00a0responds\u00a0to societal needs, offers multiple\u00a0opportunities for experiential learning and\u00a0emphasizes community-embedded research,\u201d said Makus.<\/p>\n
Although the program will not be available until next fall, it may be possible for some current first-year students to enter it.<\/p>\n
The Department of Sociology\u2019s Academic Administrator, Lindsay Shaw, says current students who entered Brock this September can declare into their second year of the Critical Criminology program in winter 2020 if they achieve a minimum of 70 per cent in SOCI 1F90 and have no more than 5.0 credits completed.<\/p>\n