Sociology 4461
Critical Thinking in Sociology: Doing Justice
Honors Section
Spring 2010
Professor Sara Steen
Email address: steen@colorado.edu
Office information: Ketchum 205; 303-735-6658
Office hours: Mondays 11-12 and Wednesdays 11:30-12:45, or by appointment
Course description
In this course, we will look at how the United States has responded to violations of the criminal
law over the last several decades, and focus on possibilities for reform that are currently
underway. We will use current policy conversations happening at the local and national levels to
understand the current policies and practices related to doing justice, to explore theories of
justice, and to think critically about the assumptions underlying our justice systems. We will
work on reimagining crime control by thinking about other ways of doing justice, and will talk
about the political, social, and economic feasibility of other choices.
Course meetings
This class is scheduled to meet Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10-10:50. Some Friday
classes will not meet in order to accommodate observation possibilities (see daily schedule). You
will be much more successful in the class if you attend regularly and participate in class
discussions. You will also be responsible for attending some meetings and/or legislative
hearings outside of class time.
Course readings
Readings listed as online readings can be found at the course CULearn website, which you can
access through CUConnect at https://cuconnect.colorado.edu. Please let me know throughout
the course of the semester if you have trouble reading the online readings (print too small, blurry,
etc.) so that I can remedy the situation.
The following books are required and are available at the CU Bookstore:
Loeb, Paul. Soul of a Citizen.
Barker, Vanessa. Politics of Imprisonment.
You will also be reading excerpts from Michael Jacobson’s book Downsizing Prisons. It is
currently on backorder at the bookstore; I will let you know whether or not you need to purchase
it (depending on when it arrives), but for early weeks I will post required excerpts on CULearn.
Course assignments
In this class, you select the assignments you want to complete, keep track throughout the
semester of your point total, and work towards your desired final grade. This structure requires
that you plan carefully and that you pay close attention to your progress throughout the
semester. Review the following options bearing these rules in mind:
1.
At least 50 percent of the total points possible for each individual assignment must
be earned; otherwise, no points will be recorded for the assignment.
2.
Once the due date for an assignment has passed, that assignment cannot be
completed (but see late policy).
3.
Two assignments are required of everyone: the final paper and at least 10 weekly
reading reflections (you can choose when to turn them in, and you can do up to 14 if
you choose). Failure to turn in required assignments will have a negative impact on
your grade. Not only will you receive no points, you will actually receive negative
points for the possible points for that assignment (e.g., if you only turn in 8 reading
reflections, you will have 20 points taken off of your final grade).
4.
The maximum number of points you can earn in any given week is 150 (this means
that you cannot wait until the final week, then turn in 300 points worth of work).
5.
Remember that I will be grading your work, and that my standards are very high.
Simply handing in an assignment does not ensure that you will receive the
maximum number of points possible for that assignment!
Assignment
Points
possible
Due date
Weekly reading reflections, 10 points each, up to 14
140
Each Monday
Commission meeting or legislative hearing
observation fieldnotes and reflection, 50 points each,
up to 2
100
Ongoing; notes are
due within one
week of meeting or
hearing
Commissioner/task force member interviews
transcribed and reflection, 50 points each, up to 2
100
Ongoing; transcripts
are due within one
week of interview
Commission analysis papers, 50 points each, up to 3
150
Ongoing beginning
in mid-February
Participation
75
Opt in by February 3
Discussion leadership, 25 points, up to 2
50
Sign up by March 19
State reform effort synopsis, 25 points, up to 2
50
Ongoing
Final paper
100
765 points
total
Monday, May 1,
noon
Weekly reading reflections: Write 1-3 pages (typed, double-spaced) reflecting on the assigned
readings for the week. In your reflections, you should note the main points of the readings (you
don’t have to touch on everything), and reflect on them. These are intended to be less like
reading notes and more like short analytic papers. I will post a good sample reflection on the
CULearn class site after I start receiving them. Weekly reading reflections are due each Monday
at the end of class.
Commission meeting or legislative hearing observation fieldnotes: The CCCJJ meets monthly, typically
on the second Friday of the month (dates are noted in the daily schedule). There are also a
number of subcommittees that meet between commission meetings (I will forward this
information as I receive it throughout the semester). Meetings are typically in Denver or
Lakewood, and we can work together to coordinate rides. There will also be legislative hearings
about bills proposed by the commission; these hearings will be held at the State House in
downtown Denver, dates will be announced as I learn them. For this assignment, you will take
fieldnotes at the meeting or hearing according to guidelines posted on CULearn. You should also
write a brief reflection (half a page at least) describing what you found particularly interesting
about the meeting. Fieldnotes should be turned in within a week of the meeting/hearing.
Commissioner/task force member interview and transcription: There are 26 commissioners and an
additional 30 or so task force members. For this option, you will conduct an interview with a
commissioner or task force member using the interview schedule posted on CULearn as a rough
guide. If you want to ask different kinds of questions than those listed on the interview schedule,
you must clear those questions with me prior to the interview (this doesn’t mean that you can’t
occasionally ask a question that is not on the guide if the interview is taking you that direction;
rather, it means that I need to have confidence that no one is going into these interviews and
asking commissioners inappropriate questions). You should tape record the interview (I have a
digital tape recorder for loan, and many laptop computers have a record function) and transcribe
it for the assignment. You should also write a brief reflection (half a page at least) describing
what you found particularly interesting about the interview. Tips for conducting and
transcribing interviews are posted on CULearn. Interview transcriptions should be turned in
within a week of the interview.
Commission analysis paper: Where the previous two assignments are part of the data collection
portion of research, this assignment takes you into the data analysis portion. To analyze the data,
you can choose a meeting or interview you attended or conducted, or you can analyze meeting
notes from my archive (on CULearn). We will do some analytic work collaboratively in class in
mid-February to give you a better sense of what this entails, and analysis papers can be turned in
after that exercise (through the end of the semester). Papers should be 3-5 pages long.
Participation: Participation will be graded according to criteria developed collaboratively at the
beginning of the semester. If you wish to be graded on participation, you must opt-in to this
option by sending me an email no later than February 5th. After that point, you cannot choose to
be graded on participation.
Discussion leadership: You can get together with one or two other students to lead a class
discussion. Discussion should focus on whatever material we are covering, and should include
discussion questions about the readings. I am open to creative possibilities (e.g., short
presentations, movie segments, etc.), but any session should include opportunities for class
discussion; please check with me in advance if you’d like to do something a little different.
State reform effort synopsis: Colorado is far from alone in its efforts to reform its criminal justice
system. For this assignment, you should research reform efforts in another state and write a brief
summary of the reform. You can look at a reform that has already passed (e.g., California’s
Proposition 36) or at a reform that is underway (e.g., federal efforts to reduce or eliminate the
crack/cocaine sentencing disparity). In your paper you should summarize the reform effort, and
briefly reflect on how the reform compares to what is happening in Colorado, or what we could
learn from it. Papers should be 2-3 pages long.
Final paper: For a final paper, you should reflect on the current effort to reform criminal justice in
Colorado. I will provide further guidelines for this paper mid-semester, but you should expect
that you will be summarizing some of what you have learned from the course readings and
discussions, and relating that material to what you have learned about the CCCJJ. Papers should
be 6-8 pages long.
Grading
Grades for this course are assigned according to the following scale:
525 and above
A
416-444
C
513-524
A-
399-415
C-
502-512
B+
388-398
D+
473-501
B
359-387
D
456-472
B-
342-358
D-
445-455
C+
341 and below
F
Course policies
Assignment policies: All assignments must be submitted in person. I will neither accept nor
acknowledge assignments submitted via email, left in my mailbox, or placed under my office
door.
Late work policy: If you need to turn in work late, please contact me at least two hours before
class. We will work together to schedule an alternative due date for you (generally up to one
class period). Late work is an inconvenience to me, so you will each be allowed only two
extensions during the semester.
Email policy: If you contact me via email (which I encourage you to do), please put “4461” in
the subject line so that I can identify student emails and respond to them in a timely manner.
Honor code: All students are expected to adhere to the University of Colorado’s Honor Code.
Please familiarize yourself with the provisions of the Honor Code. If you have any questions
about the Honor Code, please see me.
Special accommodations for…
…Religious holidays: The University of Colorado at Boulder has legal and moral obligations to
accommodate all students who must be absent from classes or miss scheduled exams in order to
observe religious holidays. If you will be absent from class for a religious observance, you must
notify me of any scheduling conflicts in writing by February 3rd.
…Learning disabilities: If you have specific physical, psychiatric, or learning disabilities and
require accommodations, please bring me a letter from Disability Services by February 3rd so that
your needs may be addressed. Disability Services is located in Willard 322, and information is
available at www.colorado.edu/disabilityservices.
…Student athletes: If you are on an athletic team and will be missing classes, please get me a
letter by February 3rd. It is your responsibility to look ahead on the syllabus and deal with any
conflicts (e.g., scheduled assignments) prior to the conflicting activity. Merely providing a letter
to me does not mean that you have dealt with these conflicts—you are responsible for working
with me to develop a plan to cover any absences.
Daily schedule
Note: Days where the topic is left blank are days when class WILL be held. I have kept them in to allow for
flexibility in our schedule. Class does not meet on days when there is a commission meeting to
accommodate attendance whenever possible. Class may also be rescheduled if there are legislative hearings
during class time.
Date
Topic
Assigned reading
Assignments due
January 11
Personal introductions, develop
participation policy
January 13
Introducing the problem of mass
incarceration
January 15
Introducing the opening for
reform
January 18
NO CLASS: MLK JR. DAY
January 20
CCCJJ background
Loeb introduction,
Reading reflection
CCCJJ background,
1/20
Emerson piece on
fieldnotes
January 22
Taking good fieldnotes
January 25
Mass incarceration
Loeb ch. 1, Jacobson pp.
Reading reflection
1-41
1/25
January 27
Causes of mass incarceration
January 29
CCCJJ background
February 1
Politics of punishment
Loeb ch. 2, Barker ch. 1,
Reading reflection
Rubin piece on
2/1
interviewing
February 3
CCCJJ participants: Understanding
Special
perspective
accommodations
letters due
February 5
Conducting good interviews
Last day to opt-in for
participation
February 8
Barker’s theoretical argument
Loeb ch. 3, Barker ch. 2,
Reading reflection
Jacobson pp. 60-77
2/8
February 10
Structural impediments to reform
February 12
Understanding the legislative
process
February 15
Openings for reform
Loeb ch. 4, CCCJJ
Reading reflection
reading, Jacobson pp. 78- 2/15
105
February 17
Review of CCCJJ agenda for 2/19
February 19
NO CLASS: COMMISSION MTG
12:30-4:30
February 22
Discussion of commission meeting
February 24
Reform in California
February 26
March 1
Lessons for Colorado
Reform in Washington
March 3
March 5
March 8
Lessons for Colorado
Discussion of Loeb’s book
Reform in New York
March 10
March 12
Review of CCCJJ agenda for 3/12
NO CLASS: COMMISSION MTG
12:30-4:30
Discussion of commission meeting
March 15
March 17
March 19
March 22
March 24
March 26
March 29
Review of class progress thus far
March 31
April 2
Reform in other states
Applying these principles to
Colorado case
Barker’s conclusions
April 5
April 7
April 9
NO CLASS: SPRING BREAK
NO CLASS: SPRING BREAK
NO CLASS: SPRING BREAK
Principles for successful reform
April 12
Review of CCCJJ agenda for 4/9
NO CLASS: COMMISSION MTG
12:30-4:30
Discussion of commission meeting
April 14
April 16
April 19
Discussion about final papers
Identifying themes in CCCJJ work
Final discussion of Loeb
April 21
April 23
Small group final paper work
NO CLASS: Eli Anderson talk 2-3
Old Main Chapel (optional)
Downsizing prisons
April 26
April 28
April 30
Monday, May 1,
noon
Loeb ch. 5, Barker ch. 3,
2/19 commission
meeting notes
Reading reflection
2/22
SIGN UP FOR
GRADE CHECK-INS
Loeb ch. 6, Barker ch. 4
Reading reflection
3/1
Loeb ch. 7, CCCJJ
reading, Barker ch. 5
Reading reflection
3/8
Loeb ch. 8, 3/12
commission meeting
notes
Reading reflection
3/15
Loeb ch. 9, Jacobson pp.
173-214
Reading reflection
3/29
Loeb ch. 10, CCCJJ
reading, Barker ch. 6
Reading reflection
4/5
Loeb ch. 11, 4/9
commission meeting
notes
Reading reflection
4/12
Loeb ch. 12, CCCJJ
meeting notes for paper
Reading reflection
4/19
Jacobson pp. 215-223
Reading reflection
4/26
Concluding thoughts
FINAL PAPER, ALL
REMAINING WORK