Principles of Justice Studies Spring 2010 Course Syllabus Professor: Dr. Kathleen A. Cameron (aka "Dr. K") Time: MWF 11:00-11:50 Office: 327B Russ Hall Place: 310 Russ Hall Office Hours: 10:30-11:00 am daily; MW 1:30-2:00 pm; Line #: JUST 109-01 MW 3:20-4:20 pm; T/TH 2:00-3:30 pm F noon-1:30 Office Phone: 235-4320 Email: kcameron@pittstate.edu Course Description: In this course we analyze the concept of justice and controversial justice issues through critical inquiry and social science investigation. We seek to refine our understanding of the nature of justice and the pursuit of Justice Studies by exploring the dynamics of social justice and its relation to criminal justice. The course examines alternative models of justice, how justice is linked to power, ideology, social control, and social change in our contemporary society. Generative themes explored are illustrated using material from the subfields concerning socioeconomic justice, racial/ethnic justice (including American Indian justice), and gender justice as well as criminal justice. Course Objectives: 1 Facilitate students ability to articulate their own sense of justice ; 2 Help students identify the dimensions, contexts, and varieties of arguments made about justice issues; 3 Demonstrate how the study and understanding of justice is a social and cultural phenomenon and activity; 4 Familiarize students with social science concepts and approaches to studying justice issues, including doing interviews, observing human behavior and interactions, and data analysis; 5 Give an historical overview of alternative models of justice; 6 Explore how basic justice issues and controversies are manifested in selected arenas of society, and how the concepts and issues underlying them are addressed in Justice Studies; 7 Engage in critical explorations of the nature of justice in an effort to develop participants skills for exposing contradictions within social, cultural, and historical forces that give rise to justice and injustice. Required Texts: Class, Race, Gender, and Crime: Social Realities of Justice in America, Gregg Barak, et. al., Roxbury Publishing Co., 2001 (first edition). The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison: Ideology, Class, and Criminal Justice, Ninth Edition, Jeffrey Reiman, Allyn & Bacon, 2010.
Course Requirements: Each student is required to attend each class session and be on time. Readings are to be completed prior to each class. Students are required to keep up with readings as assigned and complete other written assignments on time. No late work will be accepted as a general rule; illness or emergency exceptions may be made at the professor s discretion and may be subject to a grade penalty. More than three unexcused absences may result in a grade penalty or withdrawal from the course. Some ANGEL assignments may be given; students are required to complete these assignments using ANGEL. Exams (250 points): Each student is required to complete a total of four (4) exams. An exam will be given after each module. The final exam will be comprehensive. Module exams will consist of short answer, essay questions, and some objective questions; these exams are worth 50 points each (150 points). The final exam will include short answer and objective questions and will be worth 100 points (includes Module IV). Students may have the option of taking the final exam on the last day of dead week or on the scheduled date during finals week. Make-up Exam Policy: Make-up exams will be given only in cases of illness or emergency and will be subject to the professor's discretion. Make-up exams must be scheduled with the instructor as soon as the student returns to class. In the event that a student must miss an exam due to illness or an emergency, the student is responsible for notifying the professor by phone or by email. Students will be responsible for meeting with the professor for make-up exam arrangements. Make-up exams must be taken no later than one week after the student returns to class. Journal Article Assignment (25 points): Each student is required to submit a 2-3 page journal article analysis using the assigned questions (see attachment). You will select a justice-related article from an academic journal and not a magazine. Detailed instructions will be given in class during the first week of the semester. Late work policy is stated above. Paper Requirement (75 points): Each student is required to submit a 5 page (minimum) paper documenting and analyzing four face-to-face interviews. You will select four interview subjects and you will be given interview questions. You will document these interviews and analyze your findings. Detailed instructions for research design and paper format will be given in class; note due dates on course calendar below. Late work policy is stated above.
Grading Scale: The following scale will be used as a general guide to determine your course grade. Attendance, progress on exams, and class participation will be taken into account. No extra credit options will be given. 90-100 % A 315-350 points 80-89% B 279-314 70-79% C 243-278 60-69% D 207-242 59% or below F 206 or less Course Calendar: Each student is responsible for reading and writing assignments as listed below. Students will be expected to complete readings prior to class; note-taking on readings is recommended. Assigned readings for each week are listed on the first day of the week. I reserve the right to change the course calendar if necessary for the students benefit; students are responsible for noting any changes. Changes will be announced in class. Module I: Order, Culture, Law, and Justice Generative Themes: theoretical concepts and issues, human nature, historical division between religion and science, nature of ideology and social order. Week 1 1/15: Introduction to the course; course syllabus and participant responsibilities. The Hangman Week 2 1/18: MLK Holiday -- No Class 1/20: Reading assignment for the week: Barak, Ch.1; Reiman, Ch. 1 Doing scientific research and reading scholarly journals 1/22: Natural Law and relations of power Week 3 1/25: Reading assignment for the week: Barak, Ch. 2; Reiman, Ch. 2 Positivist Law and the Age of Enlightenment 1/27: Hobbes on human nature 1/29: Social stratification Week 4 2/1: JOURNAL ARTICLE DUE; no new reading assignment; study texts - exam prep 2/3: Distributive Justice 2/5: Dialogue and review
Week 5 2/8: EXAM I on Module I 2/10: An interesting video 2/12: Making conceptual connections Module II: Justice, Power, Social Control, Social Change Generative Themes: investigation of justice and power, forms of power and mechanisms of social control, gender justice and economic justice. Week 6 2/15: Reading assignment for the week: Barak, Ch. 4, pp. 129-148; Reiman, Ch. 4 2/17: Ideology and structural dimensions of justice 2/19: Forms of power and mechanisms of social control Week 7 2/22: Reading assignment for the week: Barak, Ch. 4, pp. 148-185 2/24: Gender and structures of oppression 2/26: Female criminality Week 8 3/1: No new reading assignment; study texts - exam prep 3/3: Review Module II 3/5: Dialogue and review Week 9 3/8: EXAM II on Module II (Mid-Term) 3/10: Interview paper discussion 3/12: Interview data collection Week 10 - Spring Break! Module III: Issues of Exclusion, Inclusion, Pluralism Generative Themes: race, ethnicity, and justice; membership, discrimination, sovereignty. Week 11 3/22: No reading assignment; an interesting video 3/24: Video discussion 3/26: Race matters Week 12 3/29: Reading assignment for the week: Barak, Ch. 3; Reiman, Ch. 3 3/31: Race, ethnicity and justice 4/2: Membership, inclusion, and exclusion
Week 13 4/5: No new reading assignment; study readings above - exam prep Sovereignty and Native Americans 4/7: Dialogue and review 4/9: Review Week 14 4/12: EXAM III on Module III 4/14: Interview paper questions? 4/16: The Social Justice/Criminal Justice connection Module IV: The State, Law, Crime, and Justice Generative Themes: the nature of crime and deviance, criminal liability, punishment Week 15 4/19: Reading assignment for the week: Reiman, Conclusion, pp. 186-199 Crime as an elastic phenomenon 4/21: Criminal liability 4/23: INTERVIEW PAPER DUE Week 16 4/26: No new reading assignment Justice and punishment 4/28: Law as a mechanism of social control 4/30: Dialogue and review Week 17 - Dead Week 5/3: Review Module IV 5/5: Some final questions 5/7: Last class --- Final Exam option 5/14: FINAL EXAM --- 11:00-12:50 *This syllabus may be subject to revision. WHEN GOD MADE ME by Neil Young (Prairie Wind, 2005) Was He thinkin about my country Or the color of my skin? Was He thinkin bout my religion And the way I worshipped Him? Did He create just me in his image Or every living thing?
Was He planning only for believers Or for those who just had faith? Did He envision all the wars That were fought in His name? Did He think there was only one way To be close to Him? Did He give us the gift of love To say who we could choose? Did He give me the gift of voice So some could silence me? Did He give me the gift of vision Not knowing what I might see? Did He give me the gift of compassion To help my fellow man? Journal Article Assignment 3 pages (approx.) - typed, double-spaced Due 2/1/10 You are to locate an academic journal article dealing with a justice-related issue. Be sure to choose an article from a scholarly journal and not a magazine. You will not find pictures, advertisements, etc. in an academic journal. A scholarly journal is for peer review; it contains, for example, research conducted by social scientists who publish their findings for the scientific community. You may use the internet for your search; just be sure to fully cite the article (journal, authors, etc.) or attach a copy of the article to your assignment. You are to write a critique of the article, addressing the questions below. I do not expect you to be familiar with all of these research terms; I do expect you to make an effort to answer these questions as thoughtfully and thoroughly as you can. Essay format is not required; you will need to number your answers. Be sure to include examples from your journal article in your answers; you will be evaluated on the thoroughness of each response. This assignment is worth 25 points. 1. Why did you select this particular article? Were you interested in this topic? Why? Do you think this would be a good topic to add to your interview paper assignment for this course? Why, why not?
2. Is there a logical, consistent development to this article? Does the author initially state a problem and then organize the information in a proper sequence to address the problem? A typical article would be organized along these lines: problem statement, literature review (sources), research design or argument, findings, and conclusion. Use details from your article. 3. Is the research question presented clearly? What is it? Are the questions and issues to be discussed or hypotheses to be tested stated explicitly? What is it, or what are they? 4. What is the methodology (research technique) used in this article? Does the evidence produced seem to answer the research question? 5. How important is this topic? Is it of popular interest in the justice field? Is it likely to be of value to academics and/or practitioners? To what extent does this article contribute to existing knowledge? How might policymakers use this information? 6. How is justice defined in the article? What standards define it, or whose definition is it? Is justice implicitly (implied or not obvious) or explicitly (clear, obvious) defined? If it isn't clearly defined, what implications would this study have for how we define justice? 7. In conclusion, add one question of your own to this critique that addresses something about your article that has not been discussed. For example, how might you improve on this or research? Are there questions that have not been posed by the authors or issues that could be investigated? Does your article uncover anything about justice itself that is significant? (You may use one of these questions or your own).