Midterm Assignment Questions

Demonological Perspective on Crime

The questions for this midterm assignment draw on the material from Lessons 1 through 6.
1.Discuss the Demonological Perspective on Crime with respect to the assumptions that it makes about the causes of crime and appropriate responses to crime. How and why did the demonological perspective on crime disproportionately affect women and what was the historical effect of this approach to deviance and crime?
2.Compare and contrast the Classical School and Positivist School in terms of their fundamental assumptions, motivations, and the priorities of their theories with respect to crime. Be sure to address how they are different, and how they are similar. Which of these perspectives makes the most sense to you, and why?
3.What are the implications of biological theories of crime connected to heredity? Why have biological theories of crime encountered such harsh criticism? Do you agree with those who are critical of such perspectives? Why?
4.Argue for or against the idea that crime is learned the way you would learn any other kind of behaviour. What, in your opinion, are the most influential sources of social learning for young people in contemporary society, and why?
5.What areas near you (or are you aware of) that you would identify as “crime prone” or as “deviant places”? Explain the characteristics or traits of that area that give the impression that it is “crime prone” and how they relate to social disorganization theory.
6.Why is the Chicago School model of sociological research also referred to as the “Ecological School”? What aspects of human and social ecology are most relevant to the study of crime from the perspective of the Chicago School theorists, and why?