Advanced Theoretical Perspectives

NOTE: Both the guidelines for the paper and the outline/proposal have been written below. Please go through the guidelines thoroughly, but you are to work on the OUTLINE only. I will assign the paper on a later date once the outline has been approved and feedback provided.

Course: Advanced Theoretical Perspectives

Term Paper

Assignment Background
In this course we cover a wide variety of modern criminological theories. Learning about theories is great, but being able to apply them to the ‘real world’ in order to potentially understand how things work is even better. In this assignment you will be selecting two theoretical approaches that we have covered in this course and applying these approaches to a criminal case/event of your choosing (while also making an argument for which approach you believe does a better job of explaining the criminal event that you have chosen).
Assignment Details
– You are responsible for finding and choosing a criminal/case trend (as per the criteria listed below).

– You will then need to choose two different theoretical approaches (one from Group A and one from Group B) that you will be applying to this criminal case.

– After providing an overview and application of each theory, you will need to determine and argue which theoretical approach you think does a better job of explaining that particular crime (and why).

Criminal Case Selection Criteria
– You may choose either a specific criminal case (ie. The ‘Surrey Six’ shootings in 2007), or a more general criminal trend (ie. ‘Gang violence in the lower mainland’). This decision will likely be based on which theories you are assessing and how you wish to apply them (specifically or more broadly).

– Please choose a Canadian case/trend. If there is an American or case that you really want to use, it might be fine, but I would ask that you please check with me first.

– Please choose a relatively recent case/trend. Anything within the last 10 years is acceptable. If you want to do a case that’s slightly older, again, it’s probably fine but please check with me first.

– Whatever you choose, try to select something that will give you enough information to go off. ‘High-profile’ cases are usually good since they typically have lots written about them.

– You may choose any ‘type’ of crime case (murder, assault, gang violence, fraud, terrorism, white collar crime, etc.), so there are plenty of options available to you. Pick something that you think is interesting or that would make a good theoretical case study.

– Be sure to properly cite the sources of information that you used to learn about your case (news stories, online articles, etc.).

Theory Selection
– You must choose one theoretical approach from Group A and one from Group B.

– Some of these approaches are quite broad and encompass many factors or smaller approaches, so be specific about which you are using.

– For example, if you select ‘Biological Explanations,’ you will need to clarify what biological factors you will be looking at specifically. If you choose ‘Chicago School Approaches,’ be sure to specify which theoretical approach you are using.

– For each theory you select, you will need to spend some time defining the theory and outlining its key assumptions about crime/behavior (see Formatting section).

Group A Theories:
Critical Approaches (broadly defined, including gender-based approaches); Labelling Theory; Strain Theory; Chicago School Approaches (Differential Association, etc.)

Group B Theories:
Biological Explanations (broadly defined); Choice-Based Approaches (Rational Choice, Routine Activities); Control Theories (including General Theory of Crime);
Formatting
The finished paper should be roughly 9 pages long (not including title page or references). This is my suggestion on how you should format it (note – you don’t have to follow this outline exactly, this is mostly just meant to provide a loose guideline for you):
½ page – Introduction
Briefly introduce your paper, the theories you will be discussing, the case you will be examining, and the argument (thesis statement) you will be making (ie, ‘I will argue that Theory A does a better job of explaining this case than Theory B).
1-2 pages – The Case
Briefly outline the criminal case/trend that you have selected. When did it take place, where, who was involved (victims, perpetrators, etc.), what happened? Why is this a problem? What is the history of this case/trend?
2 pages – Theory A Definition
What are the main assumptions of this theory? How is it defined? What kind of outlook does it take (micro/macro)? What does it say about how and why crime occurs or why people do what they do? How much emphasis does it place on individual vs. environmental factors? How did this theory develop? Who were the main people who helped develop it?
1-2 pages Theory A Application
Apply the theory to your selected case. Does it fit? Does it do a good job explaining what happened? Are there things that it misses or doesn’t explain well? Do the assumptions of the theory line up with what happened in the case/trend? How well does the theory work in explaining the case?
2 pages – Theory B Definition
Same thing, just with the other theory now.
1-2 pages – Theory B Application
Same thing, just with the other theory now.
1-2 pages – Argument and Conclusion
Now that you have outlined your case, defined the two theories, and applied both of them, you can tie it all together and make an argument as to which theoretical approach you think does a ‘better’ job of explaining the crime. Why is this approach ‘better’ than the other one? Or, perhaps you think BOTH approaches are good/bad, this can work too, just be sure to justify whatever your argument is.
Specific Assignment Details and Tips:
– Please include a title page with appropriate title.

– Should be about 9-11 pages (not including title page or references). Double-spaced.

– You should include a minimum of 5 academic references (not including the case references or the textbook). You may use the textbook as a source of information, but try not to lean on it too heavily.

– Use outside academic sources to help with your definitions and applications of the theory. For instance, if you are looking at organized crime through a Rational Choice perspective, see if other work has been done on that, and use it in your application.

– Cite in APA style and include a proper references page at the end.

After reading the term paper guidelines, the outline guidelines will make more sense. Please go to the next page to read the guidelines for the outline/proposal.

You are to work on Term Paper Outline
Your outline should include:

– A very brief (one paragraph at most) outline of the criminal case/trend that you want to examine (including at least one link to a source where you learned about this case).

– The two specific (one from group A and one from group B) theoretical approaches you will be applying.

– A brief overview of at least 3 academic references that you are planning to use for your paper. This will require you to locate 3 academic references and read (or skim) them.

– For each of these references provide a proper APA citation, and a brief (one short paragraph) overview of what this reference is about, and how you will be incorporating it into your paper.

– Outline should be no longer than 1 or 2 (at most) pages. No need to write it ‘formally.’