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California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Soka University Japan - Transcend Art and Peace
Created: June 22, 2003
Latest Update: November 23, 2006
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu

CRMJ/SOCA 365: Race, Crime and Law
Week 13: Minority Youth and Crime

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 13: Week of November 26, 2006

• Topic: Minority Youth and Crime

  Special Note:
  
  Thursday, November 30th at 11 a.m. central time - The Absolute Final Deadline for TR RCL class. Bring in all of your completed creative measures! Also, submit a one-page summary of your reative measures (in addition, note when presented to class and when posted to transform_dom).
  
  Friday, December 1st at 11 a.m. central time - The Absolute Final Deadline for MWF RCL class. Bring in all of your completed creative measures! Also, submit a one-page summary of your creative measures (in addition, note when presented to class and when posted to transform_dom).

• Preparatory Readings:
  --- Fellman. Rambo and the Dalai Lama. entirety
  --- Walker, et. al The Color of Justice. ch. 10
  --- Kennedy. Race, Crime and the Law. Afterword
  --- Documentary, "Requiem for Frank Lee Smith" -- to be shown in class.
  
  

• Links to Lecture Notes and Other Things
  

  Pyramid Box Instructions

  Evaluating Authority
  Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. An excellent resource for juvenile justice related issues.
  National Criminal Justice Resource Service. Administered by the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.
  
  

  Join the Yahoo Discussion Group . Discuss topics beyond the classroom and with students from California State University, Dominguez Hills.
  Gordon Fellman related materials on the Dear Habermas site.
  W.I. Thomas "Definition of the Situation
  
  Frequently Asked Questions (and Answers) on How We Teach and Why

Lecture: in class

Concepts:

• the juvenile justice system vs. the criminal justice system
• status offense
• juveniles waived into adult court
• disproportionate minority confinement
• youth gangs
• juveniles as offenders
• juveniles as victims
• "child savers"
• parens patriae

Discussion Questions:

Incorporate the readings and the documentary, "Requiem for Frank Lee Smith" in your answers.



1. There is a common perception that the typical juvenile offender is a person of color. Is this an accurate perception? [Walker, p. 412]
2. Why is there greater potential for racial discrimination in the juvenile justice system than in the adult justice system? [Walker, p. 412]
3. What are the dangers inherent in allowing police to use gang databases in investigating crimes? How would Kennedy and Fellman answer this question? Why. [Walker, p.412]
4. How would Kennedy and Fellman make sense of the Frank Lee Smith case? Why.

Ideas and Suggestions for Creative Measures

Note: All creative measures are due beginning of class on Thursday, November 30th and on Friday, December 1st.



• Examine the most recent research on disproportionate minority confinement among minority youth.
  
• Read the book, "Hoot" and compare it to the movie. [If you have not read the book for another course].
  
• Explore:
  -- minority youth and the police.
  -- minority youth and juvenile court.
  -- minority youth and juvenile corrections.
  -- race/ethnicity and juveniles waived into adult court.
  
  
  

• Make A Box a Week focusing on the week's topic or issues.

• Make a Globe (Origami Balloon). Try it!

Recommended Readings:

• Walter Myers. Autobiography of my Dead Brother.
• Walter Myers. Monster.
• Walter Myers. Scorpions.
• Barry Feld. Bad Kids: Race and the Transformation of Juvenile Court.
• Ralph Ellison. Manchild from a Promised Land.
• Richard Wright . Black Boy.
• Malcolm X. The Autobiography of Malcolm X.
• Geoffrey Canada. Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun.
• Paul Beatty. White Boy Shuffle.
• Luis Rodriguez. Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A.
• Danny Santiago. Famous All Over Town.
  
  
• The Dalai Lama. Freedom in Exile: The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama.
• The Dalai Lama. The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality.
• The Dalai Lama. Ethics for the New Millennium.
• The Dalai Lama. An Open Heart.
• The Dalai Lama. Live in a Better Way.
  
  
  
• The 9-11 Commission Report
• Alfie Kohn. No Contest. The Case Against Competition.
• Thomas Kuhn. Structure of Scientific Revolutions.

• Paulo Freire. Pedagogy of the Oppressed.
• Jurgen Habermas. Between Facts and Norms.
  
• Martha Minow. Making All the Difference: Exclusion, Inclusion and American Law. Check out this link Martha Minow on the Dear Habermas site.

Course Syllabus for CRMJ/SOCA 365-001 (MWF) "Race, Crime, Law"

Course Syllabus for CRMJ/SOCA 365-002 (TR) "Race, Crime, Law"