Crime, Economics, and Urban Life
Fall 2012, Economics 213 – section 01, Mondays from 2:00 – 4:30PM plus three field visits on some Fridays.
In compensation for the 3 field visits, there will be 3 less class meetings in the middle of the semester.
A Transformational Learning – Grounds for Change Course
No prerequisites. Some facility with simple graphs and high school algebra will be helpful. Students from programs outside of economics are especially welcome.
This course will be taught by Professor Steve Balkin, Economist, Criminal Justice scholar, community activist, and historic preservationist.
Be part of the solution to reduce the high crime and violence in Chicago.
There are three main parts to the course:
- Helping youth stay out of the Cradle to Prison Pipeline. Giving presentations to Junior High and High School youth in high crime neighborhoods about what to do and not to do when threatened with arrest. You will be taught how to do this by attorneys with First Defense Legal Aid – http://www.first-defense.org/ You will be assigned to one neighborhood and go there in groups escorted by staff with First Defense Legal Aid. Most of these field visits will be on Fridays.
- Attending lectures, reading, watching videos, and having class discussions about the principles of crime causation and urban crime prevention.
- Doing a power point presentation describing the neighborhood you taught in and suggesting policies to reduce crime in that neighborhood.
You will get to interact with community groups in your neighborhood as well as meet and have a tour of the neighborhood by Ceasefire, the subject of the award winning documentary, The Interrupters. http://interrupters.kartemquin.com/
Here are some quotes that capture some of the main theories we will use.
“I am like any other man. All I do is supply a demand.” – Al Capone
“No, I think it taught me to be independent and never expect a handout and never wait for anybody to hand you anything in any aspect of my life.” – Jesse James
“How fortunate for leaders that men do not think.” – Adolf Hitler
“Go where the money is… and go there often.” – Willie Sutton
“I loved the Godfather. I thought that was the best interpretation of our life that I’ve ever seen. Godfather I and Godfather II – the other one stunk.” – Sammy ‘the Bull’ Gravano
For more information Email: sbalkin@roosevelt.edu