Swimming Upstream: Teaching State Crime to Students at American Universities

Abstract

Over the past two decades, a growing number of criminologists have conducted rigorous research on state crime and have tried to disseminate it widely by developing academic courses that specifically address crimes of the state. However, teaching this subject, like other controversial matters, is not as straightforward as some might expect. This paper presents a framework for understanding the teaching of state crime in undergraduate and graduate programs in American universities. In order to convey the current experience, the authors surveyed colleagues who have conducted research on state crime and taught courses on this subject matter, and then analyzed the results.

Based on these findings, the writers conclude that the demands of the criminology and criminal justice curriculum, the focus on “mainstream” street crime in these course offerings, and the general practitioner-oriented goals of our students prevent the wide-scale adoption of classes on state-crime and serve to have it marginalized in the typical American university.

Keywords: state crime, academic courses, colleges, universities, undergraduate programs, graduate programs, criminology, criminal justice

JEL Classification: I20, I21, I29, K14, K49