Span 3070: Crime, Deviance, and Media in Latin America ( Completed Fall 2020)
I really enjoyed my time in this class because I was able to learn a lot more about the political and economic systems of a variety of countries in Latin America. In the future I hope to more closely study how the economic and political situations within Central and South American countries effect United States security and economic policy, this class was perfect in furthering my understanding of this topic. Throughout the semester we focused and learned about the issue in a variety of countries from Mexico all the way down to Argentina and Chile. I was able to learn a lot in this class about the way that people live in these Central and South American countries and the way that they interact with their government. Overall, this class helped further examine the different social classes and the impact that crime and illegal activity can have on those who may not be as economically privileged as others.
Below is a copy of the final paper which I wrote for this class. My paper focuses on the resurgence of large organized criminal organizations and their rise to power and influence over the last few years. I focused on how the use of modern social media and similar platforms have led younger generations to join these criminal groups in hopes of finding a better life and more stability.
I really enjoyed my time in this class because I was able to learn a lot more about the political and economic systems of a variety of countries in Latin America. In the future I hope to more closely study how the economic and political situations within Central and South American countries effect United States security and economic policy, this class was perfect in furthering my understanding of this topic. Throughout the semester we focused and learned about the issue in a variety of countries from Mexico all the way down to Argentina and Chile. I was able to learn a lot in this class about the way that people live in these Central and South American countries and the way that they interact with their government. Overall, this class helped further examine the different social classes and the impact that crime and illegal activity can have on those who may not be as economically privileged as others.
Below is a copy of the final paper which I wrote for this class. My paper focuses on the resurgence of large organized criminal organizations and their rise to power and influence over the last few years. I focused on how the use of modern social media and similar platforms have led younger generations to join these criminal groups in hopes of finding a better life and more stability.
spanish_3070__final_paper_.docx | |
File Size: | 2814 kb |
File Type: | docx |
POL 2097 International Institutions (Completed Spring 2021)
This class offered by the political science department was particularly interesting because it heavily focused on the organization and role of international governmental structures and their intricacies. Previously a study abroad seminar, this class highlighted the complex political institutions that help govern and solve international disputes and have major influence across the world. Ranging from institutions that deal with international law such as the International Court of Justice or the International Criminal Court, to more security oriented structures such as NATO and the UN Security Council, this class focused on the wide range of international influence and overall power that these institutions have gained over time as well as discussing any problems or outrage that may have occurred over time. My own final research project for this class focused on analysis the complex history of the relationship that is found between the United Nations and NATO. In my paper I analyze historical examples of failed cooperation between these two major institutions and discuss the impacts of their inadequacies over time. My research in this class also highlighted how the self-interest of strong political and economic empires such as the United States have been able to sway and influence these institutions which has further contributed to their failed missions and problems. |
pol_2097_final-un_nato_relations.docx | |
File Size: | 26 kb |
File Type: | docx |
CJ 3024 Ethics in Criminal Justice (Completed Spring 2021)
This class which was offered by the criminal justice department was something that was a little bit different than the type of class I usually take. This class, much different than any other CJ class, focused on the philosophical and theoretical arguments that are prevalent and important when it comes to examining the different facets of the criminal justice system. From examining systematic issues such as the underlying problems that lead to over-incarceration and high recidivism, to examining the different theories about punishment and the roles of jails and prisons, this class discussed a wide variety of topics that are often overlooked and not learned about enough when related to the criminal justice system. My own final research project for this class examined the history and present status of individuals who identify as a part of the LGBTQ community who are within the prison system. My research found that this particular community is not only one that is already extremely vulnerable to incarceration and recidivism because of other societal factors, but is often one of the most least protected and documented communities when it comes to academic and legislative studies on prisoners and those within the criminal justice system.
This class which was offered by the criminal justice department was something that was a little bit different than the type of class I usually take. This class, much different than any other CJ class, focused on the philosophical and theoretical arguments that are prevalent and important when it comes to examining the different facets of the criminal justice system. From examining systematic issues such as the underlying problems that lead to over-incarceration and high recidivism, to examining the different theories about punishment and the roles of jails and prisons, this class discussed a wide variety of topics that are often overlooked and not learned about enough when related to the criminal justice system. My own final research project for this class examined the history and present status of individuals who identify as a part of the LGBTQ community who are within the prison system. My research found that this particular community is not only one that is already extremely vulnerable to incarceration and recidivism because of other societal factors, but is often one of the most least protected and documented communities when it comes to academic and legislative studies on prisoners and those within the criminal justice system.
cj_3024_final_paper-lgbtq_in_prison.docx | |
File Size: | 22 kb |
File Type: | docx |
UHP Discover Summer 2021- Research Assistant under Dr. Isaac Campos from the UC History Department
The experience which I am using to cover my remaining two UHP experiences was the summer I worked under Dr. Isaac Campos as his research assistant full time thanks to the UHP Discover program. This past summer I got the opportunity to work on Dr. Campos's research project which delves into the early history and roots of marijuana within the United States and the connection/ or lack there of to the country of Mexico and it's flow of immigration to the United States. The first part of the summer I mainly worked on conducting a literature search of early American literature from the 1910s-1960's related to Marijuana and its prohibition during the late 1930's. The second part of the summer I got to delve more deeply into the dataset Dr. Campos had collected over the years. His dataset covered roughly 1200 news articles and similar writing related to Marijuana and it's effects which were written from the period of 1910-1919. This dataset would help portray a better picture as to how Marijuana was depicted in the media and general society during that time and how it changed over the course of the years. I then worked closely with members of the UC DSC to start the creation of several geographic map visualizations off the data and it's changes over that 10 year period.
The experience which I am using to cover my remaining two UHP experiences was the summer I worked under Dr. Isaac Campos as his research assistant full time thanks to the UHP Discover program. This past summer I got the opportunity to work on Dr. Campos's research project which delves into the early history and roots of marijuana within the United States and the connection/ or lack there of to the country of Mexico and it's flow of immigration to the United States. The first part of the summer I mainly worked on conducting a literature search of early American literature from the 1910s-1960's related to Marijuana and its prohibition during the late 1930's. The second part of the summer I got to delve more deeply into the dataset Dr. Campos had collected over the years. His dataset covered roughly 1200 news articles and similar writing related to Marijuana and it's effects which were written from the period of 1910-1919. This dataset would help portray a better picture as to how Marijuana was depicted in the media and general society during that time and how it changed over the course of the years. I then worked closely with members of the UC DSC to start the creation of several geographic map visualizations off the data and it's changes over that 10 year period.