A Study of Sociological and Political Theories Ingrained into the United States Justice System
Session Title
Additional Abstracts
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Political Science
Faculty Mentor
Jennifer Disney, Ph.D.; Michael Lipscomb, Ph.D.
Abstract
The history of the United States of America is based upon racism and power. Early on in our colonial development, a workforce needed to be established, and with that came along indentured servitude and furthermore slavery, codified in the very founding of our Constitution. These historical ties to servitude have led to many of the problems that the United States is facing today, with polarization and other issues of abuse of power within the government and more specifically within law enforcement agencies. To look into the ties between power and its abuse, it is important to look at the sociological and political theories that have laid the groundwork for the thoughts on these issues at hand, and to see what impact, if any, these different political and sociological theories have had on the criminal justice system, specifically policing. To what extent have these theories led to racial injustices and other disparities within policing? To what extent do these theories help us understand racial injustices and other disparities within policing? This article offers an examination of several important political and sociological theoretical constructs and how they play a role within everyday life for many Americans and their interactions with law enforcement. The goal of this study is to gain not only a qualitative but also a quantitative understanding of the ways in which the implementation of theories can influence police behavior and discretion.
Course Assignment
PLSC 490 - Disney and Lipscomb
A Study of Sociological and Political Theories Ingrained into the United States Justice System
The history of the United States of America is based upon racism and power. Early on in our colonial development, a workforce needed to be established, and with that came along indentured servitude and furthermore slavery, codified in the very founding of our Constitution. These historical ties to servitude have led to many of the problems that the United States is facing today, with polarization and other issues of abuse of power within the government and more specifically within law enforcement agencies. To look into the ties between power and its abuse, it is important to look at the sociological and political theories that have laid the groundwork for the thoughts on these issues at hand, and to see what impact, if any, these different political and sociological theories have had on the criminal justice system, specifically policing. To what extent have these theories led to racial injustices and other disparities within policing? To what extent do these theories help us understand racial injustices and other disparities within policing? This article offers an examination of several important political and sociological theoretical constructs and how they play a role within everyday life for many Americans and their interactions with law enforcement. The goal of this study is to gain not only a qualitative but also a quantitative understanding of the ways in which the implementation of theories can influence police behavior and discretion.
