CRMN 2040U – Decolonizing Criminology

For decades, mainstream criminology has centred on the experience of the Global North, privileging a Eurocentric lens and excluding the voices and experiences of those from marginalized and oppressed populations. This course challenges the mainstream current of criminology by placing the spotlight on how colonial power structures have historically, and in the present day, continue to contribute to the oppression of marginalized citizens within the justice system and the wider social structure. With respect to both content and delivery, this course centres its focus upon the voices and life perspectives of Black, Indigenous, and additional persons of colour (BIPOC). Students will engage postcolonial theoretical perspectives and be introduced to the ways in which decolonizing methodologies are used by anti-colonial criminologists in the study of crime and justice. Attention will be paid to the scholarship and experiences of those living and working in the Global South, which have largely been invisible in mainstream criminology. This course will highlight Black and Indigenous activism, resilience, and power.
Credit hours: 3.0
Lecture hours: 3.0
Prerequisite(s): CRMN 2850U