Motivation to Teach Social Action:
I have been teaching Juvenile Delinquency at the University of West Alabama since 2020, and I noticed students engage with the class in a particular way. Most of my students come from the impoverished Black Belt region of Alabama and Mississippi, and they witnessed different aspects of juvenile delinquency and the juvenile justice system in these states. In previous classes, they pointed out unresolved issues pertaining to adolescents and crime at different levels, from a lack of leadership to a lack of legitimate opportunities and an inadequate state response. I am interested in taking this class further and helping my students recognize that they can get involved in addressing the problems they identified.
Course Description:
This course will help students understand the phenomenon of juvenile delinquency in the context of real communities and social policies, integrating the many social factors that shape juvenile delinquency and its control (including race, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, gender, and sexuality). Offering a thorough mix of traditional and cutting-edge theories, research, and practices, this course also helps students answer many of the difficult questions on juvenile delinquency that they will face in their careers and lives.
Taught By:
Adrian Popan
Assistant Professor of Sociology
Department of Psychology and Sociology
The University of West Alabama
Read profile here.