Law and Society
CRIM 325 – Fall 2015
Meets Tuesday-Thursday, 8:00-9:50 in HGH 106
Or
Monday-Wednesday, 11:00-12:50 in TA 114
Professor Information:
Professor: Dr. Derek Shaw
Office: Founders Hall 165
Office Hours: TR, 10:00-11:00; or by appointment
Email: Derek.Shaw@humboldt.edu
Phone: (707) 845-4708 (text messages preferably)
Required Materials:
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Textbooks:
Darian-Smith, Eve. Religion, Race, Rights: Landmarks in the History of Modern Anglo-American Law.
Calavita, Kitty. Invitation to Law & Society: An Introduction to the Study of Real Law.
All other readings are available on the course moodle site (learn.humboldt.edu).
Moodle: You are expected to check moodle regularly for a schedule of class activities, additional assigned readings, and dates of
interest (i.e., exam dates, due dates, etc.). You will turn in assignments and download extra readings using moodle.
Email: You are expected to check email regularly as your classmates or I may contact you via email. If you do not use your HSU
email account, you must ensure that your HSU mail is forwarded to the email account that you do use. Contact the help desk for
help with this: helpdesk@help.humboldt.edu or 826-4357
Course Overview:
“Normal appearances are shattered when our motives, relationships, obligations, and privileges are explicitly redefined
within ‘legal’ constructs and categories… The tragic, but sadly commonplace, aspects of life become strangely refigured
through law: harsh words between feuding coworkers become harassment, or the brutal violence committed by a husband
against his wife is euphemistically labeled a domestic dispute. In short, we often find ourselves subject to a mighty power
that can render the familiar strange, the intimate public, the violent passive, the mundane extraordinary, and the awesome
banal.”
– Patricia Ewick, THE COMMON PLACE OF LAW: STORIES FROM EVERYDAY LIFE (Page 16)
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Law and Society represents a rich area of study, drawing on a diverse array of academic disciplines, including
sociology, anthropology, philosophy, economics, cultural studies and political science. This course will provide
a broad overview of the field’s central questions, including: what meanings attached to law circulate in social
relations, how does law sustain its institutional power, how is the law interpreted and experienced by specific
individuals, how do social relations constitute the law and alternatively how does the law constitute social
relations? We will explore these questions through the theme of religion, race and rights. These themes will
ground our investigation of the historical emergence of Anglo-American law and modernity. We will also
consider surveillance, social control, the relationship between law and social space, as well as law enforcement.
A central focus of this course is to develop the ability to engage in critique, which involves “examining the
underlying assumptions that might allow something to appear as a convincing logic”. We will hone these skills
through oral presentation, scholarly dialogue, and written prose. This course is a writing intensive course. Given
this, assignments will primarily consist of papers and we will spend a substantial amount of class time
discussing writing technique, developing your personal writing process, and peer reviewing one another’s work.
Students will be exposed to a variety of approaches for studying the nexus between law and society in this
course. However, we will primarily take a constitutive approach to law. That is, we will seek to unearth law’s
social and cultural meanings, as well as its broad, complex and unintended consequences.
Official Catalog Description
CRIM 325. Law and Society (4). Examines creation and maintenance of systems of law and social control. Focus on
courts, surveillance, policing, and informal and formal mechanisms of social control impacting individuals to societies.
[Prereq: CRIM 225S.]
LEARNING OUTCOMES
After completing this course, you should be able to demonstrate the following course learning outcomes, as well
as progress toward final department and university-related learning outcomes:
Course Learning Outcomes
1. Students will be able to appreciate and understand the historical development of Anglo-American law and
arguments about its cultural specificity.
2. Students will be able to identify multiple sites where one can see the co-constitutive relationship between law
and society.
3. Students will have discussed the major questions shaping law and society scholarship.
4. Students will demonstrate the ability to read for meaning, summarize a reading, identify scholarly arguments
and critically evaluate what they have read.
5. Students will hone the ability to write with clarity, brevity and sophistication. This includes the ability to
write compelling thesis statements, the ability to organize their writing effectively and the ability to clearly
convey complex ideas.
6. Students will be able to identify new vocabulary and incorporate that vocabulary into their speech and
writing.
Departmental Learning Outcomes
1. Students will develop the ability to critically analyze the relationship between social inequalities and crime.
2. Students will develop the ability to apply criminological and justice theories to specific problems of crime
and justice.
3. Students will develop the ability to effectively communicate through oral and written methods.
University Learning Outcomes
HSU graduates will have demonstrated:
1. Critical and creative thinking skills in acquiring a broad base of knowledge and applying it to complex issues.
2. Competence in a major area of study.
3. Appreciation for and understanding of an expanded world perspective by engaging respectfully with a diverse
range of individuals, communities, and viewpoints.
HSU graduates will be prepared to:
4. Pursue social justice, promote environmental responsibility, and improve economic conditions in their
workplaces and communities.
COURSE POLICIES
Active participation is the key to your success in this course. Class meetings will consist of mini-lectures,
discussions, small group work, free-writes, media presentations and other activities. Students are expected to
arrive on time to class.
Office Hours
I welcome visitors! Come to my office hours whether you have a specific question about the course content, or
more general concerns. My office hours are set aside specifically for students. If you cannot make my scheduled
office hours, please email me to make an appointment at another time.
Late Work
The deadlines in this course are hard deadlines. If work is not turned in on time, you will not receive full credit.
For every 12 hours that an assignment is late, an 8% lateness penalty is incurred. For example, if your paper is
24.5 hours late and it is a B paper (ie 85%), you will receive a 61% for that paper. This means that students
must be very strategic about turning in late work and must consider whether extra time will result in a
substantially better product. However, there are some assignments, which must be completed on time in order to
receive credit (peer review drafts and the final presentation). The assignment sheet will contain details about
whether an assignment is eligible for the above 8% lateness policy.
Email
In order to be prepared, it is crucial that you regularly check your HSU email account. Periodically, I will send
out reminders, schedule changes and other important information. I do my best to answer your emails as quickly
as possible. That said, it often takes me about 24 hours to answer an email. I only check my email once a day
and sometimes that is not until after noon. Additionally (please be aware) for the most part, I do not check email
on the weekends.
Accommodations
Students with Disabilities: This syllabus was designed using recommended practices for creating accessible
word documents. If you have suggestions regarding improving the accessibility of this document or other
content for this class, please contact me. Persons who wish to request disability-related accommodations should
contact the Student Disability Resource Center in the Learning Commons, Lower Library, 826-4678 (voice) or
826-5392 (TDD). Some accommodations may take up to several weeks to arrange.
http://www.humboldt.edu/disability/
Other Important University Policies
Add/Drop policy: Students are responsible for knowing the University policy, procedures, and schedule for
dropping or adding classes. http://www.humboldt.edu/~reg/regulations/schedadjust.html
Emergency evacuation: Please review the evacuation plan for the classroom (posted on the orange signs), and
review http://www.humboldt.edu/emergencymgmtprogram/evacuation_procedures.php for information on
campus Emergency Procedures. During an emergency, information can be found campus conditions at: 826INFO or www.humboldt.edu/emergency
Academic honesty: Cheating is defined as obtaining or attempting to obtain, or aiding another in obtaining or
attempting to obtain credit for work or any improvement in evaluation of performance, by any dishonest or
deceptive means. Plagiarism is defined as the act of using the ideas or work of another person or persons as if
they were one's own, without giving proper credit to the sources. Cheating and Plagiarism are serious offenses
for which HSU has strict policies. Please note that using work for this course that you have submitted in another
course constitutes a form of academic dishonesty and will result in failure of the course. Students are
responsible for knowing policy regarding academic honesty:
http://www.humboldt.edu/studentrights/academic_honesty.php or http://pine.humboldt.edu/registrar/catalog/
Attendance and disruptive behavior: Students are responsible for knowing policy regarding attendance and
disruptive behavior: http://www.humboldt.edu/studentrights/attendance_behavior.php
Please Note: You should hold on to this syllabus, as it is a week-by-week guide to the course, readings,
assignment due dates, and so forth.
CRIMINOLOGY & JUSTICE STUDIES
Criminology and Justice Studies (CJS) students find an active and supportive departmental culture that
surrounds coursework in criminological theory, methods, inequalities of crime and justice, law, policy & action.
Because of the breadth, adaptability and practical applications of a liberal arts degree in CJS, graduates choose
to work in many different sectors: non-profit, private business, social services, education, health services, public
relations, criminal justice and government, as well as graduate studies. Undergraduate CJS students must earn a
“C” or better in all courses taken to satisfy the requirements of the degree. Further information about this
exciting major can be found at: http://www.humboldt.edu/sociology/degrees/undergraduates.html#CJS.
ASSIGNMENTS
PARTICIPATION 10%
Attendance will be documented for this course. Attendance is vital because in class we work on assimilating the
readings, unpacking theoretical frameworks and applying concepts to case studies. In order to be successful on
assignments and to effectively utilize course material in your writing, it will be important to unpack this
material with your classmates and the professor. You are expected to come to all class sessions and to be
prepared to fully participate. There are some basics to good participation. Bring your assigned texts, whether a
print copy of an electronic reading or a book to class so that we can refer to them. You are expected to bring a
hard copy of the required reading, unless you have a disability that makes use of an electronic device more
beneficial for you. Complete readings before class and be ready to engage the material. Being prepared also
means coming to class sober, turning your cell phone off once you arrive, and remaining awake throughout the
duration. You are expected to refrain from behaviors which interfere with the learning of your classmates, such
as playing with your smart phone, checking facebook, working on an assignment for another class, engaging in
side conversations, etc. These are matters of basic respect for the learning of your classmates. Your
participation grade is calculated based on your attendance and your engagement in class activities. Your first
absence will not impact your grade. All absences after the first will reduce your participation grade by 5%
points. Arriving to class late results in a partial absence (1/4). Missing more than 20 minutes of class results in ó
credit for that day’s attendance.
WEEKLY READING NOTES 20%
For 6 of the weeks of this course, you will submit reflective writing and notes on the week’s reading to help you
to practice your analytical skills and think through the key ideas and concepts. These notes will be submitted to
moodle by 8pm on the Friday evening for weeks where required. I will review them considering the extent to
which you are engaging the readings. These will likely be at least 2-4 pages of notes and should provide a
strong foundation for the papers assigned in the course. Research (and experience) tells us that the very act of
thoughtful writing not only solidifies ideas, but also is a critical part of idea generation and analytical thinking. I
encourage you to complete notes even during weeks where they aren’t required. Any extra notes that you
complete may be submitted to me for extra credit. We can come to new questions and ideas by writing and
reflecting on those words. You may choose to organize your note however you choose. However, important
components of these notes are main arguments, important concepts, implications of the approach in question, a
detailed list of new vocabulary words and critical questions for further thought.
SHORT ESSAYS 35%
You will write three short essays during the middle of this course. The first two essays will be 5 paragraph
essays. We will use these to explore the importance of organization for the quality of your writing, the
development of thesis statements and transition, along with other features of writing technique.
The first essay (due Week 3) will be simple. You will write an essay in response to the question: How would
you characterize Law & Society scholarship, based on what you’ve learned in the first 2 weeks of class. You are
to submit this essay on moodle by 10pm Sunday September 13.
For your second 5 paragraph essay (due Week 6 on Sunday October 4) you will explore the mythic power of the
Law. Submission procedures are the same as the first essay and you will also bring a hard copy to class the
following class period for peer review. For this second essay, you will be asked to build an essay in response to
a quote from the reading. This quote will be handed out in class.
These two 5 paragraph essays are each worth 10% of your final grade.
The third short essay assignment (due Week 9) in this class will take the place of a midterm exam. It will focus
on the book by Eve Darian-Smith. You will be provided a prompt in class for this assignment. This paper will
be longer. You will use the writing skills honed through the 5 paragraph essay assignments to craft a 4-5 page
paper to make an argument about the Darian-Smith book. You will bring a hard copy to the second class in
Week 9 for peer review and you will revise the essay, turning in a final copy for grading on October 25th. The
third short essay will be worth 15% of the final grade
FINAL PAPER 35%
Instead of cramming to write a long paper at the end of the semester, in this class—you will work on a
substantial piece of writing throughout the second half of the semester. In the end, your paper will be 9-12
pages double spaced, examining a significant legal issue. You will choose your topic around Week 4 of the
semester. You will complete library research, producing a preliminary bibliography/ proposal by Friday,
October 2nd. You will complete a rough draft by Tuesday, November 17th. We will end the semester with a
Law and Society Student Conference, where you will give a presentation about your paper’s main argument.
The final draft of your final paper is due Monday, December 14th by 3pm. A hard copy must be submitted to me
by this deadline. Further details about this assignment will be given in class.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Subject to change with fair notice
WEEK ONE- INTRODUCTION TO LAW & SOCIETY (August 24-30)
First Class:
Syllabus and introduction to the class
Second Class
Calavita Chapter 1 “Introduction” and Chapter 2
** FEED FORWARD EXERCISE DUE VIA MOODLE BY 8PM FRIDAY
PLEASE POST A PHOTO OF YOURSELF ON MOODLE
WEEK TWO- LAW IN THE EVERYDAY, EVERYWHERE (August 31-September 6)
First Class
Ewick, Patricia and Susan Silbey. “Conformity, Contestation, and Resistance: An
Account of Legal Consciousness.” New England Law Review, Vol. 26 (1992).
Second Class
Ewick, Patricia and Susan Silbey. “Common Knowledge and Ideological Critique: The
Significance of Knowing That the ‘Haves’ Come out Ahead.” Law & Society Review,
Vol. 33, No. 4 (1999).
** READING NOTES DUE VIA MOODLE BY 8PM FRIDAY
WEEK THREE- LAW IN THE EVERYDAY, EVERYWHERE (September 7-13)
No First Class this week
Second Class
Darian-Smith, Introduction
** ESSAY #1: 5 PARAGRAPH ESSAY DUE BY 10PM SUNDAY September 13
WEEK FOUR- HISTORICIZING LAW (September 14-20)
First Class
Darian-Smith, Chapter 1
Second Class
Darian-Smith, Chapter 2
** READING NOTES DUE VIA MOODLE BY 8PM FRIDAY
WEEK FIVE- HISTORICIZING LAW (September 21-27)
First Class
Darian-Smith, Chapter 3
Second Class
Darian-Smith, Chapter 4
** READING NOTES DUE VIA MOODLE BY 8PM FRIDAY
WEEK SIX- HISTORICIZING LAW (September 28-October 4)
First Class
Neocleous, Mark. “From Martial Law to the War on Terror.”
Second Class
Darian-Smith, Chapter 5
** ESSAY #2: 5 PARAGRAPH ESSAY DUE BY 10PM SUNDAY October 4
** FINAL PAPER PROPOSAL/BIB DUE VIA MOODLE BY 8PM FRIDAY
WEEK SEVEN- HISTORICIZING LAW (October 5-11)
First Class
Darian-Smith, Chapter 6
Second Class
Darian-Smith, Chapter 7
** READING NOTES DUE VIA MOODLE BY 8PM FRIDAY
WEEK EIGHT- HISTORICIZING LAW (October 12-18)
First Class
Darian-Smith, Chapter 8
[** ESSAY #3 ROUGH DRAFT DUE VIA MOODLE BY 8PM WEDNESDAY]
Second Class
Darian-Smith, Conclusion
Bring hard copy of critical essay to class; Peer Review
WEEK NINE- SOCIAL CONTROL, SPACE, SURVEILLANCE & ENFORCEMENT (October 19-25)
First Class
Calavita, Chapter 3
Second Class
Calavita, Chapter 4
Bring revised copy of critical essay #3 to class; peer review
** ESSAY #3: FINAL DRAFT DUE BY 10PM SUNDAY October 25
WEEK TEN- SOCIAL CONTROL, SPACE, SURVEILLANCE & ENFORCEMENT
(October 26-November 1)
First Class
Calavita Chapter 5
Second Class
Calavita, Chapter 6
** READING NOTES DUE VIA MOODLE BY 8PM FRIDAY
WEEK ELEVEN- SOCIAL CONTROL, SPACE, SURVEILLANCE &
ENFORCEMENT (November 2-8)
First Class
Staples, William G. “Surveillance, and Social Control in Postmodern Life.”
Second Class
Harris, David. “The Stories, the Statistics and the Law: Why ‘Driving While Black’ Matters”
** READING NOTES DUE VIA MOODLE BY 8PM FRIDAY NOVEMBER 6
WEEK TWELVE- SOCIAL CHANGE (November 9-15)
First Class
Calavita, Chapter 7.
No Second Class: Remembrance Day November 11
WEEK THIRTEEN- SOCIAL CHANGE (November 16-22)
First Class
Davis, Angela Y. Introduction and “Resistance, Language, and Law.” Interview in Abolition
Democracy…
** FINAL PAPER DRAFT DUE VIA MOODLE BY 10PM TUESDAY NOVEMBER 17
Second Class
Peer Review Day
HAPPY THANKSGIVING BREAK (November 23-29)
WEEK FOURTEEN- PAPER PRESENTATIONS (November 30-December 6)
First Class
Panel 1
Second Class
Panel 2
WEEK FIFTEEN- PAPER PRESENTATIONS (December 7-13)
First Class
Panel 3
Second Class
Panel 4
FINALS WEEK (December 14-20)
Final Paper Hard Copy Due December 14
You are required to check Moodle regularly for changes.