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Created: July 27, 2003
Latest Update: April 22, 2005
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu

CRMJ/SOCA 352: Law and Social Change

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 15: Week of April 24, 2005

Topic: Law, Social Change and the Future

Special Announcements:



• April 25th through May 6th -- Second Meetings. If you have not scheduled your meeting with me, see me ASAP.
• May 6th - Last Day of Class
  

  Preparatory Readings:

• Arrigo. Social Justice/Criminal Justice, Chapter 13.
• Mann and Zatz. Images of Color, Images of Crime, Chapters 22 .
• Video: "---" (to be shown in class).
  
  

  Lecture related links:
  
  

• W.I. Thomas "Definition of the Situation
• Martha Minow. Making All the Difference: Exclusion, Inclusion and American Law. Check out this link Martha Minow on the Dear Habermas site.
  
  

  Concepts to be covered:
  

• criminal justice and social justice
• critical social justice
• short-term vs. long-term solutions
  

  Questions to relate to your Creative Measures:

  1. Why do juvenile and criminal justice programs need to be sensitive to cultural and gender differences in the populations they serve? Specify what programs should be different. Why? (from M&Z). 2)

  2. Do you share Mann & Zatz's conclusion of a "fragile future"? Why or why not.

  3. What are the basic differences between critical social justice and criminal justice practices? (Arrigo, p. 271, Q. 6).

  4. If you could change something within the criminal justice apparatus so that the system was more consistent with critical social justice principles, what would it be? Why. (Arrigo, p. 271, Q.7).

  5. After reading about the American Indians, African Americans, Latino/a Americans, Asian Americans, and Euro Americans, which theory from the Arrigo text best fits for each group? Select a different theory for each group. (Do not use the same theory twice).Why. Provide examples from the Mann and Zatz readings to strengthen your argument.

  6. Based on the theories introduced in Arrigo's book, what do you think the relationship between criminal justice and social justice should be? Why. Which theory comes closest to your views on this relationship? Why. Incorporate the Mann and Zatz book into your argument.

  7. Of all the theories and concepts covered in this course, which one makes the most sense in terms of "law and social change"? Relate your answer to the interrelationship between "theory, policy and practice." Be sure to provide examples from the readings, creative measures and other class materials/discussions.

  8. What do Mann and Zatz mean when they say that race is a "social construct"? Do you agree or disagree with Mann and Zatz? Why.

  9. Apply Habermas' "tension between facts and norms" to one issue for each of the groups we discussed in the Mann and Zatz text. In your opinion, what is the most pressing "tension"? Why. What are some possible remedies? Why.
  
  

  Suggested Creative Measures:

  
  
  • Examine how various writers from a diversity of disciplines and fields discuss the future. Are they optimistic or pessimistic? Why.
  • What is the mass media's images of the future? Why.
  • Read one of the recommended books listed below on the future.
    
    
  • Note: All creative measures: 1) Must relate to "law and social change." 2) Must be pre-approved. 3) Cannot be something that you are doing for another course. 4) 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).
  
  

  Recommended Readings:

  
  
  • George Ritzer. The McDonaldization of Society.
  • Gordon Fellman. . Rambo and the Dalai Lama: The Compulsion to Win and Its Threat to Human Survival.
  • Jurgen Habermas. Between Facts and Norms.
  • Charles Derber. People Before Profit.
  • Paul Klugman. The Great Unraveling: Losing Our Way in the New Century.
  • Michael Moore. Dude, Where's My Country?
    
    
  • Jurgen Habermas. Between Facts and Norms.
  • Martha Minow. Making All the Difference: Inclusion, Exclusion and American Law.

• Course Syllabus
  
  
• Links to the Sociology of Law Handbook readings
  -- Introduction
  -- Chapter 1, part 1
  -- Chapter 1, part 2
  -- Chapter 2

takata@uwp.edu