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California State University, Dominguez Hills
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Created: July 27, 2003
Latest Update: October 2, 2008
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu

CRMJ/SOCA 365 Race, Crime, Law

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 October 5, 2008

Monday, October 20th, beginning of class - Midterm Visual Projects due

Topic: Justice on the Streets?

Preparatory Readings:




• Richard Delgado & Jean Stefancic. The Derrick Bell Reader . Chapters 6.
• Samuel Walker and others. The Color of Justice. -- Chapter 4.
• Gordon Fellman. Rambo and the Dalai Lama. -- entire book.
• Documentary: "Racial Profiling" (to be shown in class)
  
  

Lecture related links:



• Critical Race Theory
  
• Race, Ethnicity, and the Criminal Justice System
• Sticks and Stones -- Labelling Matters.
  
• W.I. Thomas "Definition of the Situation
  
• Adversarialism AND Mutuality
• Adversarialism
• other Gordon Fellman related materials on the Dear Habermas site.
• "Who's Habermas? Why Habermas?"
  
  




Concepts to be covered:



• DWB
• racial profiling
• deadly force
• affirmative action
• War on Drugs
• gringo justice
• police brutality
• zero-tolerance



Discussion Questions:

Note: In order to answer these discussion questions, you will need to view "Racial Profiling," and do the assigned readings for this week.

1. What is meant by a contextual approach to examining policing, race and ethnicity? [Walker, p. 154] What would Bell and Fellman say about this? Why.
2. How is policing in Native American communities different than policing in the rest of the United States? Why. [Walker, p. 154]
3. When does the police use of deadly force become "excessive" or "unjustified"? Provide a definition of excessive force. [Walker, p. 154] How would Fellman and Bell react to this issue? Why.
4. Define the concept of affirmative action . Do you support or oppose affirmative action in the employment of police officers? Do you think affirmative action is more important in policing than in other areas of life? [Walker, p. 154] Explain. What would Bell and Fellman's assessment be? Why.
5. In Chapter 6 of The Derrick Bell Reader , the focus is on the politics in the academy. Are there "comparable pressures that plague" minority law enforcement officers? If so, what are some similarities and differences experienced by minorities in these two professional career fields?



Suggested Visual Projects/Creative Measures:




Note: Start thinking about ideas for your visual projects/creative measures. Must relate to "race, crime, law." 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). You are expected to turn in a bibliography with each visual project. No term papers! Allow time to dialogue and present your creative measure in class. Email me your ideas ASAP.



• 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.
  
  
• Examine the policies and practices of racial profiling from a variety of perspectives: 1) the media. 2) law enforcement, 3) the local community.
• Watch the movie, "Crash." Relate your observations to the readings in this course. Find scholarly reviews and critiques of this movie.
• Explore police use of deadly force as it relates to racial and ethnic groups.
• Find out about police brutality and racial/ethnic minorities.
• Describe police-community relations in your neighborhood. Is there a good relationship between the people and the police? Why or why not.
• Examine affirmative action and law enforcement. How many minority law enforcement officers are there in your city? Do they mirror the city's population? [from the Instructor's Resource Manual]
• Access the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board website. Review various complaint cases. [from the Instructor's Resource Manual]
  
  
• Examine Race, Ethnicity, and the Criminal Justice System published by the American Sociological Association (September 2007).
• Research the Dalai Lama -- his past and present.
• Research "forgiveness". Begin with these books: Martha Minow, Between Vengeance and Forgiveness. Desmond Tutu, No Future Without Forgiveness.



Recommended Readings:



• Nicholas Alex. Black in Blue.
• Stephen Leinen. Black Police, White Society.
• Kenneth Bolton, Jr. and Joe Feagin. Black in Blue: African-American Police Officers and Racism.
• Katheryn Russell-Brown. The Color of Crime: Racial Hoaxes, White Fear, Black Protectionism, Police Harassment, and Other Macroaggressions.
• David Cole. No Equal Justice: Race and Class in the American Criminal Justice System.
• Kenneth Meeks. Driving While Black.
• Jarret S. Lovell. Good Cop/Bad Cop.
  
  
• 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.
• Paul Loeb. The Impossible Will Take a Little While: A Citizen's Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear. [if you have not read this for another course]
• Paulo Freire. Pedagogy of the Oppressed.
• Alfie Kohn. No Contest. The Case Against Competition.
• Thomas Kuhn. Structure of Scientific Revolutions.
  
  
  
• Desmond Tutu. No Future Without Forgiveness.
• 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 "Race, Crime, Law"

takata@uwp.edu