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California State University, Dominguez Hills
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Created: July 27, 2003
Latest Update: March 27, 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 11: Week of March 30, 2008

Topic: Beyond Hope

Preparatory Readings:

• Make A Box!!! Or, make an explosion box. .

• Cornel West. Democracy Matters. Chapters --
• Paul Loeb. The Impossible Will Take a Little While. Chapters 39 through 44.
• Martha Minow. Between Vengeance and Forgiveness. -- entire book.
• Documentary: "The Fog of War" (to be shown in class)
  
  

Lecture related links:

• Try making an origami earth.
• 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:

• hope
• silence
• free will
• the "fog of war"

Discussion Questions:

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

1. How does the documentary, "The Fog of War" relate to the early chapters of Cornel West's Democracy Matters and this week's readings in the Loeb book? Why.

2. "The only kinds of fights worth fighting are those you are going to lose, " wrote the radical journalist I.F. Stone, "because somebody has to fight them and lose and lose and lose until someday, somebody who believes as you do wins." (Loeb, p. 327). Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Can you think of an issue that might illustrate what Stone is describing here?

3. In Wheatley's article, what do you think of her judgment that "we don't need specific outcomes. We need each other." [from Loeb's website]

   ****** Something different for a change: instead of answering the above discussion questions, you must decorate a box that reflects your learning of this week's course materials. You must use the Make A Box directions or you can make an explosion box.

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.



• Figure out why "the war to end all wars" did not happen?
• Further examine the life and times of Robert Strange MacNamara.
• Do you know the story of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes? If not, you might want to research it. Why does this metaphor touch people worldwide.[from Loeb's website]
• Identify a pressing societal issue today that concerns you. Research the issue in order to give yourself some background that will help you "speak the truth to power." [from Loeb's website]
• Research one of the major environmental issues. What progress has been made?
  
  
• Make A Box a Week or some other visual presentation focusing on this week's topic.
• 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:

• Joanna Macy. Widening Circles .
• Nadezhda Mandelstam. Hoping Against Hope: A Memoir.
• Margaret Wheatley. Turning to Each Other.
• Cornel West . Race Matters.
  
  
• James Hilton. Lost Horizon.
• George Orwell. 1984.
• Aldous Huxley. Brave New World.
• Margaret Haddix. Among the Hidden. series, especially her latest, Among the Enemy .
  
  
• 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