This course examines the role of institutions that respond to crime and violence. We study the role of institutional actors centering on criminal justice: we focus in particular on criminal justice institutions, but also community organizations, government agencies, international organizations, journalists, and others–in identifying, naming, and acting upon crime and violence. We also study the strategies these institutions adopt in responding to crime, violence, and insecurity, along with evidence about how they do so and outcomes of their interventions. Finally, we attend to the relationship between criminal justice and other social outcomes, including health and well-being, collective memory, skepticism, social movements, and civic participation. Throughout the course we rely on a wide range of materials, so that in most weeks students will engage with a combination of perspectives, including social science research, legal materials, testimonies, official documents, and journalistic accounts.