Multimedia Resources

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“Can Software That Predicts Crime Pass Constitutional Muster?”
A computer program in the experimental stage has raised unanswered questions about whether it is appropriate for police to stop people based on computer modeling.
“IQ Isn’t Set in Stone, Suggests Study That Finds Big Jumps, Dips in Teens”
A new study documents significant fluctuations in the IQs of a group of British teenagers. The findings bolster the theory that the IQ test isn’t a measure of a person’s “fixed” intellectual capacity but rather a gauge of acquired knowledge that progresses in fits and starts.

Crime and Violence: The Biological Behind Murder
Adrian Raine, criminologist and author of The Anatomy of Violence: The Biological Roots of Crime, talks about how biology—in addition to social factors—affects whether or not someone will become a violent criminal, and why men are more likely to commit homicidal crimes than women.
Cesare Lombroso, Left Handedness, and the Criminal Mind
Emory University's Nat C. Robertson Distinguished Professor Howard Kushner tells the story of late-19th/early 20th century Italian criminologist Cesare Lombroso and his efforts to study the relationship between left-handedness and criminal behavior.
Phrenology—Studying the Shape of the Head
This clip is taken from a documentary on phrenology and describes the different areas of the brain that were thought to possess certain characteristics.

Social Darwinism
The article gives a brief view of Social Darwinism.
Eugenics
The author seeks to interrogate the implications of past practices.
Sterilization
An article from a legal journal dated from 1915 on the topic of sterilization of criminals.
Phrenology
Stanford has posted information on phrenology as a practice.
Scientific Racism
The Washington Post interrogates the modern version of Social Darwinism.

Introduction to Criminology: Why Do They Do It?