SOC 301 Penology

3 hours 

This course examines how criminal punishment has changed over time. It reviews the various justifications for punishment including deterrence, retribution, rehabilitation, incapacitation, and restoration,- and examines how these affect punishment in practice. It considers the social, political, and economic functions that punishment serves. It explores how and why incarceration has dramatically expanded in recent decades in the United States and elsewhere, and considers current and future changes in the use of criminal punishment.