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California State University, Dominguez Hills
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Created: July 27, 2003
Latest Update: March 6, 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.

* * * * *

Week 8: Week of March 9, 2008

Reminder:

Monday, March 10th - Midterm Visual Projects due (including bibliography and self-assessment)

Friday, March 14th - Last Day to Drop a Semester long course

Topic: Criminal Justice/Social Justice @ Midterm

Preparatory Readings:

• Paul Loeb. The Impossible Will Take a Little While. -- Chapters 1- 32.
• Martha Minow. Between Vengeance and Forgiveness. -- entire book.
• Cornel West. Democracy Matters. ----
• Documentary: "----" (to be shown in class)
  
  

Lecture related links:



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




Concepts to be covered:



• relationship between criminal justice and social justice
• theory, policy, practice
• grounded theory
• difference between optimism and hope
• between vengeance and forgiveness
• trials, truth commissions, reparations



Discussion Questions:

Note: You will need to incorporate this week's readings and the documentary, "------" into your answers.

1. Present a brief review of Minow's Between Vengeance and Forgiveness. What are the strengths and weaknesses of this book? Why. Would you recommend this book? Why.

2. How would you summarize the first 32 chapters of Loeb's The Impossible Will Take a Little While? What are the strengths and weaknesses of this collection of readings? Why.

3. Based on all of the readings and other class materials, what is the difference between optimism and hope? Which perspective do you agree with the most? Why.

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.



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 creation and controversy surrounding the Vietnam Memorial.
• Try living on $2/day. (Or calculate your "cost of living" per day.)
• Locate the websites for one of the following organizations noted for peace and justice efforts: MoveOn.org, Win Without War, Working Assets, Sojourners, Bread for the World, Amnesty International, Sierra Club, NAACP, or any other global or national peace organization. Find out what you can about their efforts, such as the organization's mission statement, main focus or area(s) of interest, goals, recent efforts for peace and justice, and other relevant information. [from Loeb's website]
• How often do voices expressing "the grief of history" appear in the mainstream media? Which voices tend to be heard? How should this change? Describe the boundaries of which issues and perspectives seem to get covered in the press and which ones don't. [from Loeb's website]
• Research how many governments the U.S. has overthrown or helped overthrow since the end of World War II. How often did our efforts bring democracy to a dictatorship? How often did we replace one dictatorship with another? See William Blum's book, Killing Hope, for some recent examples, and William Appleman William's books The Tragedy of American Diplomacy, or A William Appleman Williams Reader, for an examination of our deep-rooted tendencies to intervene in other nations destinies. [from Loeb's website]
• Go to the Human Rights Watch website. List at least three things you learned or surprised you, or points that raised questions for you. Discuss your findings with other. [fomr Loeb's website]
• Summarize Hertsgaard's proposal, "Global Green Deal." Who/what would oppose this proposal and why? What new kinds of coalitions might support it? Do you know about the New Apollo Project, which creates a similar kind of effort here at home. What do you think of the project after going to its website? Do you agree with Hertsgaard's proposal? Explain.
• Select a current event and examine the left/right perspectives and other news source links on the Dear Habermas site (located in the middle of the front page). How do the different perspectives present this current event? Why.



Recommended Readings:



• 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.
  
  

Course Syllabus for CRMJ 353 Criminal Justice/Social Justice

takata@uwp.edu