Zito, associate professor of sociology, authored "Engaged Criminology: An Introduction," an active-learning textbook for undergraduate criminology students.
Rena Zito, associate professor of sociology, authored “Engaged Criminology: An Introduction,” an active-learning textbook for undergraduate criminology students. Published by SAGE, the official publisher of the American Sociological Association, “Engaged Criminology” welcomes students into the sociological study of crime with a conversational tone, real-life examples and storytelling, and hands-on activities that get students doing criminology. Instead of bludgeoning students with encyclopedic coverage of every possible topic in criminology, “Engaged Criminology” focuses on the most important topics, concepts and theories with which an undergraduate student of criminology should be familiar.
“Engaged Criminology” embodies the Elon University approach to undergraduate education by incorporating best practices in the scholarship of teaching and learning. The text includes active-learning exercises and discussion prompts that foster joyful, deep learning through tasks like take-a-stand activities, concept photography, role-playing scenarios, cognitive mapping, hands-on data analysis and reflection exercises.
This book was written during a sabbatical made possible by support from Elon University’s Faculty Research and Development funds.