This course provides an overview of historical and contemporary perspectives of criminal justice within the United States. Specifically, this course focuses on definitions of crime, explanations of criminality, policing, courts, and corrections and how these elements of the criminal justice system intersect with age, race/ethnicity, gender and socio-economic status. Students should be able to: (1) demonstrate a basic knowledge of the key components of the criminal justice system; (2) develop and use critical thinking skills necessary to compare and analyze historical and contemporary CJ policies; and (3) discuss their own perspectives of criminal justice practices in conjunction with those identified through social scientific research.