ENGL2001: Crime, Kids, and Abuse

In this course we'll examine varied types of child and adolescent abuse, their dehabilitating effects on some of the young who turn to drugs,crime and prostitution.We'll use films, documentaries, and speakers to examine the fight against abuse from the U.S to Nepal to the "Secrets of the Austrian Cellar." And we'll finish with an overnight service, experiential visit to a facility for troubled youth in Eastern KY, one of the most impoverished places in the country.

Drug abuse, prostitution and violence. Even serial killing, as in the cases of Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy. These are effects of neglect and sexual, physical and psychological/emotional abuse of children and teens. But why do some respond in criminal ways while others do not? What do demographics tell us about the urgency of the problem, and what are the challenges we face in dealing with abusers and their victims? We’ll use documentaries, life stories, psychological and legal studies, as well as a variety of speakers to explore one of the most troubling concerns facing society.

Our time together will culminate with an overnight service trip to a facility for at-risk teens in an area of Eastern Kentucky confronting an opioid crisis. This is a course for all students in all majors because the costs of abuse are enormous.

• Fall 2020
• Fall 2019
• Fall 2018