Biosocial Aspects of Antisocial Behavior - Period 4

Antisocial behaviour poses a major burden for society. Revealing its causes may provide clues for treatment and prevention. Criminology, the scientific study of criminal behaviour, has traditionally been dominated by sociologically oriented theories of crime causation. This focus has underscored the importance of environmental factors while, at the same time, dismissing the importance of biological and genetic factors. Indeed, most criminology textbooks give only a cursory overview of biogenic research into antisocial behaviour, suggesting that these factors are unimportant. This conclusion, however, stands in contrast to a large body of research which identifies biological and genetic factors to be important in the etiology of criminal behaviour. This honours course will introduce the student to biosocial criminology, an emerging paradigm in the criminological discipline. Biosocial criminology encompasses several subfields that seek to unpack the association between genes, biology, the brain, the environment, and different types of antisocial behaviours. The course will unfold in three interrelated sections. The first part of the course will present an introduction to biosocial criminology. We will explain basic concepts and theories within criminology, biology and psychiatry so that all students have the basic knowledge where they could build upon in the following lectures. The second portion of the course will introduce students to concepts, findings, and theories germane to the biosocial focus. The final section of the course will consider both the ethical and policy implications of biosocial criminology. During this portion of the class, we will also discuss some of the reasons mainstream theorists have overlooked biosocial criminology. Throughout the classes the students will be engaged by cutting-edge research taught by an excellent panel of lecturers.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam) awards credits based on the ECTS system. Contact hours listed under a course description may vary due to the combination of lecture-based and independent work required for each course therefore, CEA?s recommended credits are based on the ECTS credits assigned by VU Amsterdam. 1 ECTS equals 28 contact hours assigned by VU Amsterdam.

This is an Honors course.