HIST 340 – History of the Mafia and Global Crime

Formerly called HIST/CJS 430 – Social History of the Mafia

Description
This course examines one such complex criminal phenomenon as the Mafia in its evolution from an agrarian-based criminal organization to a multinational of crime. This inevitably entails examining the main efforts made to this day to fight against organized crime as they have developed from the 1950s onwards in both the United States and Italy, which represent two core models for anti-mafia legislation.

Objectives
Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to:
− Demonstrate a critical understanding of the social and cultural aspects of the Mafia; the myths, stereotypes, theories, and realities of organized crime; the activities of Mafia groups and their role in the communities where they exercise what is usually defined as “control over the territory”;
− Identify the fundamental aspects of Mafia groups as well as the similarities and differences between each Mafia group and their connections and interactions at the international level;
− Understand how the United States and Italy (two core models for anti-mafia legislation) have coped with the problem of organized crime and how other countries all over the world have modeled their criminal legislation after these two models;
− Understand the conditions why a so-called “social anti-mafia” has only developed in Italy and not in any other country of the world;
− Understand the conditions that – to this day –have been favoring the international expansion and the spreading of Mafia groups.

Course descriptions may be subject to occasional minor modifications at the discretion of the instructor.

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