• Each discussion should be 300 words or more for original posts and 200 words or more for supplemental responses. Just "I agree" or "I disagree" or "it is a good point" etc. are not acceptable discussion posts.
• Each discussion must discuss an original issue from the readings and should respond to another post.
• APA in-text (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. citations and references are required for any external and textbook material provided. Excessive quotations (more quotes than your own words) will not award points.

Discussion Questions: (Remember: You may use ONE of these or any concept that you find in the chapter. You may start a new topic or respond to the existing one.)

1. How much weight should scientists give to a theory’s popularity? How is it even possible that theories without any concrete evidence can be popular?
2. Should a theory of crime be able to explain all types of crime or criminals? Why or why not?
3. How relevant do you think the ideas of the Classical School are to the criminal justice system today? What classical ideas could be developed and implemented today that we are not currently using?
4. What do you think deters someone from committing a crime? What evidence can you think of that indicates people are or are not deterred? Are there people who are “most deterred”?
5. Using cases from current newspapers or television, develop examples of how some crimes demonstrate Tarde’s notion of imitation.
6. Use the theories of the Chicago School to describe your neighborhood’s characteristics and traits. When describing your neighborhood, analyze it as if you were a researcher conducting an ethnographic study. Use the many theories of this chapter to aid you.
7. Symbolic interactionism is at the core of Chicago School sociology/criminology. Take five minutes during an interaction with friends or family and document the symbolic interactions that occur.
8. Are friends more important than family in determining whether a youth will become delinquent? Why or why not?
9. Does differential association seem to be a theory that only explains delinquency and not adult crime? Why or why not?The Great Depression of the 1930s was important to Merton’s understanding of the relationship between social strain and deviant behavior. How is the recent “Great Recession” similar to what Merton discusses?
10. Merton’s focus on a society that overemphasizes financial success and restricts the means for reaching that success is the foundation of his theory. Assuming that some analysts are correct that the deregulation of the financial industry from 1980-2007 created a situation where usual norms did not apply. Using this discuss the relevance of Durkheim’s version of anomie.
11. Look up violent crime statistics in the most recent Uniform Crime Reports for Miami, Florida. Discuss whether current statistics seem to support a “southernness hypothesis” or subculture of violence.