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California State University, Dominguez Hills
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Created: July 27, 2003
Latest Update: February 21, 2008
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu

CRMJ 353: Criminal Justice/Social Justice

You will be held accountable for purposes of grading for the readings and exercises listed here. There will be no "testing." That means that you will not have to live in anxious anticipation of what we will ask and how much you will have to know. Instead, we will provide weekly discussion questions, lectures, essays, and concepts we feel that you should know as a result of having taken this course. You will assure us of that learning and receive your grade for the questions and concepts about which you choose to write and talk with us. In addition you will find detailed explanations and examples on our grading policies in the first week's reading.

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Week 6: Week of February 24, 2008

Reminder: Midterm Meetings begin on Friday, February 29th.

Topic: Reparations/Courage is Contagious

Preparatory Readings:

• Paul Loeb. The Impossible Will Take a Little While. -- Chapters 22 through 27.
• Martha Minow. Between Vengeance and Forgiveness. - Chapter 5.
• Cornel West. Democracy Matters. ----
• Documentary: "Time of Fear" (to be shown in class)
  
  

Lecture related links:



• Japanese American National Museum
• Actively participate in the Community Building discussion group.
  
• National Criminal Justice Reference Service. Administered by the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.
  
• Paul Loeb's website
• W.I. Thomas "Definition of the Situation
  
  




Concepts to be covered:



• reparations
• restorative justice
• Executive Order 9066
• Civil Liberties Act of 1988
• Fred Korematsu



Discussion Questions:

Note: You will need to incorporate this week's documentary, "Time of Fear" in your answers.

1. Is reparations a good idea or a bad idea? Why.

2. What are the connections between this week's materials -- Minow's chapter on "reparations," Loeb's section, "Courage is Contagious" and the documentary, "Time of Fear"? Why.

3. "Democracy isn't a spectator sport. It's government of the people and by the people. In other words, a political process that works only to the extent that we participate." How does this statement relate to "courage is contagious"? Why. [from Loeb's website]

4. Does Bertell's notion of connectedness and mutual dependency conflict with the common belief of American individualism? Why. [from Loeb's website]

5. What does Wallis mean by "Hope is believing in spite of the evidence, then watching the evidence change"? Do you agree? [from Loeb's website]

6. Bateson quotes someone who once said, "My life is like surfing, with one wave coming after another." What is a simile or metaphor for your life? Explain. [from Loeb's website]



Suggested Creative Measures:




Note: Start thinking about ideas for your creative measures. Must relate to "criminal justice/social justice." Must be approved before starting your creative measure. Cannot be something that you are doing or have done for another course. Research cannot be 100% online (i.e., google, askjeeves). Must conduct library research using scholarly works, (not the popular press -- Time Magazine, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated). No term papers! Allow time to dialogue and present your creative measure in class. Email me your idea.



• Research the history of reparations.
• Research the progress of reparations to African Americans for slavery.
• Examine the political and cultural context of the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.
• Research the Korematsu and other related cases.
• Select a current event and examine the left/right perspectives and other news source links on the Dear Habermas site (located iat the end of the website's front page). How do the different perspectives present this current event? Why.
• Research the central arguments for the use of renewable resources vs. nuclear power. Assess the importance of renewable resources in your own community. [from Loeb's website]



Recommended Readings:



• Victoria Safford . Walking toward Morning .
• Rosalie Bertell . Planet Earth.
• Jim Hightower. Thieves in High Places.
• Jim Hightower . There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road But Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos.
• Jim Wallis. Faith Works: Lessons form the LIfe of an Activist Preacher.
• Mary Catherine Bateson . Willing to Learn: Passages of Personal Discovery.
  
  
• Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston. Farewell to Manzanar.
• Michi Weglyn. Years of Infamy.
• Roger Daniel. Politics of Prejudice.
• Ronald Takaki. Iron Cages..
• Lawson Fusao Inada. Only What We Could Carry: The Japanese American Internment Experience.
• Greg Robinson. By Order of the President: FDR and the Internment of Japanese Americans.
• H. Kim. A Legal History of Asian Americans, 1790-1990 .
• Tetsuden Kashima. Judgment without Trial: Japanese American Imprisonment during World War II.
  
  
  
• Martha Minow. Breaking Cycles of Hatred: Memory, Law and Repair.
• Desmond Tutu. No Future Without Forgiveness.
• MoveOn.org. Move On's 50 Ways to Love Your Country.
  
  

Self-Assessment Questions for each Visual Project:




1. List the names of the individuals in your group. What did you do exactly for this visual project? (If in a group, explain the division of labor and your individual contribution to this visual project).
2. Briefly explain how your visual project relates to "criminal justice/social justice" (i.e., the readings, the documentaries). What did you learn?
3. Assess how the 6Cs apply to your visual project, with special attention on competence and creativity. What is your visual project self-assessment (provide a letter grade) ___ ? Why.

Course Syllabus for CRMJ 353 Criminal Justice/Social Justice

takata@uwp.edu