Special Topics in Political Theory: Race, Violence, and the Law
Political Science 401, Fall 2015
University of Washington
Savery Hall 156
Mondays & Wednesdays, 2:30-4:20
Professor: Kirstine Taylor
kst@u.washington.edu
Office: Gowen 45
Office hours: Tuesdays, 4-6PM
Course Website: https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/992466
Course Description & Objectives
Course Description: What is the relationship between race, violence, and the law in the
American context? Does law – understood variously as constitutionality, legal sanction, rights,
and enforcement – suppress practices of race-based violence? In a nation marked by a long
and living history of white supremacy, is law a powerful tool of recourse, resistance, political
struggle, and freedom? Alternatively, when and how might law create, sustain, or
institutionalize violence against people of color? What roles do gender and sexuality play in
negotiating the boundaries of violence and law? Drawing principally from African American
political thought, this course examines the complex relationship between race, violence, and
law in the history of the United States. Part I of the course focuses on questions of
constitutionalism, slavery, and violence in the abolitionist thought of Frederick Douglass,
William Lloyd Garrison, and Henry David Thoreau. Part II of the course considers the
problem of violence during the height and fall of Jim Crow. Here, we read Ida B. Wells,
W.E.B. Du Bois, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and others. Part III of the course
considers relationships of law and violence during the era of mass incarceration, border
detention, and national security, thus exploring how we might theorize law and violence for
contemporary times.
Course Objectives:
1. To develop a robust and critical knowledge of political theory regarding relationships
of race, violence, and law in the United States.
2. To develop an appreciation for how African American political thought informs the
study of contemporary politics, problems, and issues regarding race, violence, and law.
3. To hone personal skills in spoken deliberation and analytical argumentation.
4. To produce a strongly analytical and creative research project, thus developing skills
for research-length writing.
5. To practice applying critical thinking to ones’ own political lives and commitments.
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Required Texts
Frederick Douglass, NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS, AN
AMERICAN SLAVE
Ida B. Wells et al, THE REASON WHY THE COLORED AMERICAN IS NOT IN THE
WORLD’S COLUMBIAN EXHIBITION
Ta-Nehisi Coates, BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME
Angela Y. Davis, ARE PRISONS OBSOLETE?
All other course materials (including recommended readings) can be found on the course
website. Books are available at UW Bookstore, at other booksellers, and at the UW libraries.
Note that if you plan on using library copies of books, they can take time to become available
or may require you to request the book from another library.
Requirements and Assessment
1. Thoughtful and sustained class participation. Students are expected to complete the
assigned readings before class, to arrive on time and prepared for discussion, and to
interact respectfully with their instructor and fellow students. Participation is worth
25% of the final grade.
2. Two Student Presentations. Students will give two presentations during the quarter –
alone or with another student – to last approximately 10-15 minutes, on the reading(s)
for the assigned day. Presentations cannot be on consecutive readings must include a
critical summary of the day’s material and at least one discussion question/topic.
Students may make use of images, video, and other media during their presentations.
Presentations are worth 10% each, or 20% total, of the final grade.
3. Research Prospectus. Students are required to develop a prospectus for your research
paper, to include a statement of the question or problem you are working with, a
statement of your argument/thesis, an abstract, and an outline of your proposed paper.
The prospectus is worth 15% of the final grade.
4. Research Paper. Students are required to submit a research paper (approx. 12-15
pages in length) at the end of the quarter. To receive full credit, it must be of proper
length and rigor, include relevant citations, and be formatted properly. Specific
directions will be posted on the course website. The research paper is worth 40% of
the grade.
Grade Breakdown:
Class Participation:
Presentation 1:
Presentation 2:
Research Prospectus:
Research Paper:
25%
10%
10%
15%
40%
Schedule of Deadlines:
Research Prospectus due Friday, November 13th
Research Paper due Monday, December 14th
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Course Schedule
* = reading available in course packet and/or on course website
Introduction: Speaking of Violence and the Law
Wed, September 30: Introductions; no assigned readings
Mon, October 5:
Read: Robert Cover, “Violence and the Word” (1986)*
I. Slavery, Violence, and the Law
Wed, October 7:
Read: Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,
an American Slave (1845)
Mon, October 12:
Read: Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,
an American Slave (1845)
Wed, October 14:
Read: Frederick Douglass, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”
(1852)*
Read: William Lloyd Garrison, “On the Constitution and the Union”
(1832) and “Disunion” (1855)*
Mon, October 19:
Read: Charles W. Mills, “Whose Fourth of July? Douglass and
Original Intent” (1998)*
Mon, October 21:
Read: Henry David Thoreau, “Civil Disobedience” (1849)*
Read: Lawrie Balfour, “Resurrecting John Brown” (2011)*
II. Jim Crow, Violence, and the Law
Mon, October 26:
Read: W.E.B. Du Bois, “Of the Coming of John” (1903)
Read: Ida B. Wells et al, The Reason Why— (1893), Frederick
Douglass, “Introduction” and “Ida B. Wells, “Convict Lease”
and “Lynch Law”
Recommended reading: Robert Rydell, The Reason Why—, “Editor’s
Introduction”
Wed, October 28:
Read: Daniel Kato, “Constitutionalizing Anarchy: Lynching,
Liberalism, and the Law” (2012)*
Mon, November 2:
Watch: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Recommended reading: Gunnar Myrdal, “Democracy and Justice,” An
American Dilemma (1944)*
Wed, November 4:
Read: Danielle McGuire, “‘It Was Like All of Us Had Been Raped’:
Sexual Violence, Community Organization, and the African
American Freedom Struggle” (2004)*
Mon, November 9:
Read: Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (1963)*
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Read: Malcolm X, “The Ballot or the Bullet” (1964)* and “Message to
the Grassroots” (1963)*
Wed, November 11: Veteran’s Day; no class and no assigned reading
Research Prospectus Due Friday, November 13th, 5PM
III. Theorizing Race, Violence, and Law in Carceral Times
Law, Incarceration, Criminalization
Mon, November 16: Read: Loïc Wacquant: “From Slavery to Mass Incarceration” (2002)*
Read: Vesla Weaver, “Black Citizenship and Summary Punishment: A
Brief History to the Present” (2014)*
Recommended reading: Angela Y. Davis, “The Prison Industrial
Complex” in Are Prisons Obsolete? (2003)
Wed, November 18:
Read: Nicholas De Genova, “The Legal Production of Mexican/
Migrant ‘Illegality’” (2004)*
Read: Matthew S. Whitt, “Sovereignty, Community, and the
Incarceration of Immigrants” (2015)*
Mon, November 23: Read: Read: Adrien Katherine Wing, “Civil Rights in the Post-9/11
World” (2003)*
Read: Andrea Smith, “Without the Right to Exit: Mass Incarceration
and National Security” (2015)*
Wed, November 25: Thanksgiving break; no class and no assigned readings
Police, Violence, Affect
Mon, December 2: Read: James Baldwin, “My Dungeon Shook: Letter to My Nephew
on the One Hundredth Anniversary of Emancipation” (1963)*
Read: Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me (2015), Part I
Wed, December 4:
Read: Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me, Parts II & III
Read: Michelle Alexander, “Telling My Son About Ferguson” (2015)
Mon, December 7:
Read: Gary Peller and Kimberlé Crenshaw “Reel Time, Real Justice”
(1993)*
Read: Michelle Smith, “Affect and Responsibility Politics”
Read: Ta-Nehisi Coates, “Charles Barkley and the Plague of
‘Unintelligent’ Blacks” (2014)*
Read: Megan Garber, “The History of ‘Thug’”* (2015)
The New Abolitionism
Wed, December 9: Read: Angela Y. Davis, Are Prisons Obsolete?, chapters 1 & 2
Research Papers are due Monday, December 14th at midnight
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Grading Policies
Paper assessment guide: Written work in the A (3.5-4.0) range is characterized by a
strikingly perceptive, persuasive, and creative analytical claim; comprehensive synthesis and
analysis of the course material; straightforward yet sophisticated organization of thoughts and
error-free prose. Written work in the B (2.5-3.4) range is characterized by sound, original, and
reasonably thoughtful argument/thesis statement; competent analysis of various course
material, logical organization; and clear and error-free prose. Written work in the C (1.52.4) range is characterized by a relatively underdeveloped, simplistic, or derivative
argument/thesis statement; partial, inconsistent, or faulty analysis of course material;
convoluted organization; and awkward, imprecise, or otherwise distracting prose. Written
work in the D (0.7-2.3) range is characterized by incoherent or extremely confusing argument;
superficial or fleeting engagement with the course material; chaotic or irrational organization;
and error-riddled prose. Written work that lacks any argument or analysis and is sloppy, earns
an F (0.6 and below).
Grade Conversion. Written work will receive grades on the 4.0 scale. The following is this
course’s letter grade to 4.0-scale conversion chart, which conforms to the Political Science
Department’s scale:
A+
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DF
3.9-4.0
3.6-3.8
3.5
3.2-3.4
2.8-3.1
2.5-2.7
2.2-2.4
1.9-2.1
1.5-1.8
1.2-1.4
1.0-1.2
0.7-0.9
0.6 and below
Late Policy. Uncompleted or missing papers will receive a grade of 0.0. Late assignments
will be docked 0.3 per day. That is: 3.5 paper, if turned in past the deadline, will become a 3.2,
if turned in one full day late, will receive a 2.9, and so on. Exceptions will be made given
prompt and (if necessary) documented consultation with the instructor. For full consideration,
make sure to correspond with me via email prior to a late submission rather than afterwards.
Exceptions to the late policy include: family emergencies, health and wellness issues, and
logistical emergencies.
Grade Complaints. Grade complaints on assignments will be dealt on an individual basis in
direct consultation first with your teaching assistant and should be submitted in writing no
later than 10 days after the return of the graded assignment. If the student is not yet satisfied,
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they may appeal the grade in writing to myself. If the student is still not satisfied or feel the
grade is discriminatory or unjust, they may appeal to the Associate Chair of the Political
Science Department, Jamie Mayerfeld, at jasonm@u.washington.edu.
Academic Dishonesty. Cases of suspected cheating and plagiarism will be referred to the
Arts and Sciences Committee on Academic Conduct, and may result in a grade of 0.0 for the
assignment in question. Note that some teaching assistants are quite adept at detecting
dishonest work. University policies and guidelines regarding cheating and plagiarism can be
found at https://depts.washington.edu/grading/pdf/AcademicResponsibility.pdf.
Other Policies
Communication. It is important that your check your UW email regularly, as I and/or your
teaching assistant may send out vital course information via email throughout the quarter.
Students are welcome to contact me via email for logistical inquiries (such as making
appointments). Please use your UW email account for such correspondence. Substantive
questions and communications are very much encouraged but will be reserved for office hours
and in-person meetings.
Technology in the classroom. Turn phones to ‘silent’ or ‘vibrate’ while in class. Use of
phones and the internet on any device is prohibited during class hours unless it is part of an
assigned activity or discussion.
Respect in the Classroom. Every student is expected to treat fellow classmates, teaching
assistants, and course instructor with a spirit of active and mutual respect. This is especially
important because parts of this course are designed to challenge assumptions about the
political world. I invite students to approach course material with a sense of openness – that is,
to let material, themes, concepts, and questions we raise in class to challenge your sense of
reality and, at the same time submit what you read and discuss in class to thoughtful
skepticism and critique.
Classroom comportment on gender and names. As a general rule, academic scholarship
now uses gender-neutral pronouns to refer generally, such as “people” instead of “men” and
“humankind” instead of “mankind.” Unless dealing with texts using specifically gendered
pronouns, you are expected to conform to this standard of gender inclusivity, and not fall back
on “he”/“him” out of habit. In interacting with your fellow classmates in the classroom, you
are expected to use the pronoun and name that each person prefers, regardless of whether this
preference conforms to any assumption made about their gender or name.
Similarly, students facing gender-, sexuality-, race-, national origin- or religious-based
harassment or violence in or out of class are entitled to protection. Information from
University of Washington’s Compliance Support Program for services can be found at:
http://compliance.uw.edu/csupport.
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Religious Holidays. If you wish to observe a religious holiday that is not recognized by the
University calendar, please let us know in advance, so that we may accommodate your
absence from class.
Student Disability. Students needing academic accommodations for a disability should
contact Disability Resources for Students, 448 Schmitz Hall, V: (206) 543-8924, TTY: (206)
543-8925, uwdss@u.washington.edu. If you have a letter from Disability Resources for
Students documenting the need for academic accommodations, please present this letter to the
instructor so that accommodations can be discussed and arranged.
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