A Block Criminology 12 - Today I want to continue with our look at the nature vs. nurture debate that we started last Friday, again focusing on the history of psychological and sociological criminology. We'll look at the difference between deviance and criminal behaviour (acts that are criminal but not deviant and deviant but not criminal). What is deviant behaviour? A simple explanation of deviant behaviour could be any action that violates cultural norms (formal norms like laws - or informal norms like nose picking). This is a difficult concept because what an individual or sub culture in society defines as deviant is contextually situated (meaning what I think is deviant may be different for you; it is subjective - influenced by personal considerations).
Take smoking in public. You may think that this behaviour is acceptable because an individual has the choice to consume a cigarette and they are merely harming themselves...no problem right? You may, however, think this behaviour is unacceptable. Second-hand smoke is hurtful to others because they could be harmed by someone else's behaviour. So what is deviant in many cases is subjective. What is criminal is the codification of what a society as a whole deems as deviant. Homicide is criminal because as a society we believe that taking another life is unacceptable and deviates from the accepted cultural norm that we wish our country to be like.
So using the text and your brains you need to come up with a list of things that are deviant but not criminal and a list of things that are criminal but not deviant. After you'll need to take one act from either list and explain why it should be criminalized or why it should be decriminalized.
Don't forget you need to create your own theory of why crime happens. You need to use the brainstormed list we did in class along with the notes you took today on the history of Criminology.
B Block - Geography 12 - Today we'll continue our work on the foundations of Geography starting with the Five Themes. In order to understand the increasingly complex and interconnected world we live in we need to find a way to make sense of information in a way that doesn't overwhelm us. The Five Themes (Location, Place, Human-Environment Interactions, Movement, and Regions) are a framework for making sense of geographic data. Today, hopefully, we'll cover the five themes and then tomorrow we'll move on to systems and spheres.
C Block - Introduction to Law 9/10 - Today we'll share your own theories of why crime happens. We'll see if there are any similarities amongst the different theories we made and try to understand just what that may mean. Next we'll look in the course text (handout) and discuss the biological AND sociological reasons for criminal behaviour. Tomorrow we'll look at victims and victimology.
D Block - Social Studies 11 - Today we'll continue our look at the government structure we have here in Canada. We'll work on the Parliament of Canada "Canadian Democracy" worksheet and compare Canada with Myanmar (Burma). After this, I'll have you work on a few definitions: Democracy (direct and representative); Constitutional Monarchy; Constitution (Canada's); and the three government levels (Federal, Provincial, and Municipal). Tomorrow we'll focus on the Federal system of governance (Federal, Provincial, and Municipal division of powers).
Governor General of Canada
The Federal Government
The Constitution Act 1982
Nestled away, in the back corner of G.P. Vanier, you'll find room 115 (we used to be 611). Lurking in the shadows of this room is Mr. Young...waiting to pounce on unsuspecting students and natter on about volcanoes, hail, psychopathy, criminal law defenses, cultural diffusion, media theories, crime, and urban models of city development. He loves his job in 115 and can't wait to work with you this year.
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