Download GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

THE WASHINGTON CENTER
Law and Society
Course 3263
The Washington Center
Syllabus – Spring 2006
M, 6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Instructor:
Contact Information:
Class Website:
Sanjay Marwah
Telephone (use only in emergency): (703) 819-2376 and (301) 728-2834
E-mail: [email protected]
http://home.earthlink.net/~smarwah
Textbook:
Main Text:
- Turkel,Gerald (1996). Law and Society: Critical Approaches. (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Incorporated).
Additional Readings:
David H. Bayley and Clifford D. Shearing (2001), The New Structure of Policing: Description, Conceptualization, and
Research Agenda, (Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Research Report, NCJ 187083).
Mathieu Deflem (1998), “The Boundaries of Abortion Law: Systems Theory from Parsons to Luhmann to Habermas,”
Social Forces, 76, 3: 775-818.
Myra Marx Ferree (2003), “Resonance and Radicalism: Feminist Framing in the Abortion Debates of the United States
and Germany,” American Journal of Sociology, 109, 2: 304-344.
Marc Galanter (1974) “Why the “Haves” Come Out Ahead: Speculations on the Limits of Legal Change,” Law &
Society Review, 9: 95-160.
David Garland (2004), Capital Punishment and American Culture: Some Critical Reflections, (New Haven, CT: Center
for Cultural Sociology Working Paper, March).
Kevin D. Haggerty and Richard V. Ericson (1999), “The Militarization of Policing in the Information Age,” Journal of
Political and Military Sociology, Vol. 27, Issue 2, Winter, 233-256.
Gregory Hooks and Chad L. Smith (2004), “The Treadmill of Destruction: National Sacrifice Areas and Native
Americans,” American Sociological Review, 69, 4: 558-575.
Celene Krauss (1993), “Women and Toxic Waste Protests: Race, Class, and Gender as Resources of Resistance,”
Qualitative Sociology, 16, 3: 247-262.
Austin Sarat (1993), “Speaking of Death: Narratives of Violence in Capital Trails,” Law & Society Review, 27, 1:19-58.
Course Background and Objectives: This course presents sociological and political-economic approaches examining
law and society from theoretical/methodological and issue-specific perspectives. The main approach in the course
builds on the premise that theory and method invariably link with policymaking and implementation with regard to
socioeconomic issues. The course addresses four major topics including abortion, capital punishment, environmental
justice, and policing as part of the learning process. Through application of the major theoretical and methodological
approaches, students will grasp the complex relationships existing between legal institutions and political, economic,
and social institutions and resulting policy issues. An ‘external’ perspective of law and society is taken, contrasted with
the ‘internal’ jurisprudence that dominates in the study of law. Examining law within social contexts and accounting for
the differences between the ideal and real nature of law have been important contributions from sociologists to better
understand law and its practice. As a reading intensive course, we will focus on active discussion of the major themes
and topics covered in the class. The main textbook is Gerald Turkel, Law and Society: Critical Approaches, Allyn and
Bacon. Additional readings are available on-line. The major course requirements include student participation, short
commentaries, take-home exams and group presentations. Students will develop critical research and analytical skills
and understanding of major concepts, theories, and substantive areas.
Course Format and Requirements: As a reading intensive course, we will focus on active discussion of the major
themes and topics covered in the class. The major course requirements include take-home exams, short commentaries,
group presentation, and student class participation. These requirements will allow the instructor to gauge student
retention of major concepts, theories, and substantive areas and allow development of critical research and analytical
skills. Take-Home Exams will consist of four (4) essay questions on materials from the main textbook and class
lectures. There will be two take-home exams – each worth 100 points. Short Commentaries require students to read
an article from The New York Times and/or other major daily newspaper that pertains to the topics of the class for that
day and write a short commentary on the selected article. These commentaries should be about two paragraphs that
describe how the article relates to the class topic(s) and what it suggests about law’s role in making policy. Group
Presentations will cover the four topical areas examined in the later part of the class. Each group will cover one topic
and the presentation assignment is worth 60 points total. Guidelines for the presentations will be provided during the
class. Student Participation is determined through several factors including attendance and class participation.
Students are encouraged to engage themselves through active discussion of readings and questions on key concepts and
theories.
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Grading Scale and Scheme:
Scale:
Letter Grades and Percentile Ranges (% of 100)
A = 95-100; A- = 90–94; B+ = 85-89; B = 80-84; B- = 75-79; C+ = 70-74;
D = 61-69; F = 0-60
Weighting Scheme:
Take-Home Exams (2)
200 points total (57% of total course grade)
Short Commentaries (2)
60 points total (17% of total course grade)
Group Presentation (1)
60 points total (17% of total course grade)
Student Participation
30 points total (9% of the total course grade)
No late exams are accepted except in extreme emergency.
Students are responsible for all material covered in the relevant chapters and readings outlined below, even if some
material is not covered in the class directly. Material learned in the class will also be incorporated in exams. Students
are required to attend all scheduled class periods. It is recommended that students read the appropriate chapters before
each class period.
Student Policies and Conduct: Students should conduct themselves with the highest degree of professionalism and
take responsibility for their education. If there is an expected absence from a student, the student should inform the
instructor and must inform their program supervisor. Students must abide by the rules of The Washington Center and
may be subject to sanctions for misconduct that includes plagiarism, cheating, falsification, obstruction, and
absenteeism. Any student that uses others’ ideas or writings verbatim and/or without proper citation will be receive an
“F” for the assignment and may receive the same grade for the course.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Week/Date
Topics Schedule
Chapters/Pages
Week 1 (1/23)
Course Overview/Political
Economy, Law, and Society
Grounding - Sociology and Law
Theories /Perspectives
Law, Solidarity, and Social Order
Rationalization, Law, and
Liberalism
Law, Conflict, and Capitalism
Themes
Political Economy of Law
Law, Inequalities, and
Public/Private Divide
President’s Day Holiday
Autonomy of Law
Law, Legitimacy, and Power
Legal Profession and Society
Social Construction of Law
Future of Law and Society
American Culture and Society
Topics 1-2
Policing and Society/Capital
Punishment
Presentations - Groups 1& 2
Topics 3-4
Abortion/Environmental Justice
Presentations - Groups 3&4
Law and Policy Review
Class Wrap-up
None
Week 2 (1/30)
Week 3 (2/6)
Week 4 (2/13)
Week 5 (2/20)
Week 6 (2/27)
Week 7 (3/6)
Week 8 (3/13)
Week 9 (3/20)
Week 10 (3/27)
Week 11 (4/3)
Week 12 (4/10)
Week 13 (4/17)
Week 14 (4/24)
Week 15 (5/1)
Tasks and Assignments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapters 6 & 9
Take Home Exam 1 Due
Chapter 7
Chapter 10
Chapter 7; Galanter 1974
Chapter 8
Chapter 11
Assigned reading - to be provided
Bayley and Shearing 2001;
Haggerty and Ericson 1999;
Garland 2004; Sarat 1993
Ferree 2003; Deflem 1998; Hooks
and Smith 2004; Krauss 1993
No readings assigned
Take Home Exam 2 Due
Instructor Background: Sanjay Marwah is a researcher at the Japan International Transport Institute. He has taught
sociology and criminology at Ohio and Texas Tech Universities. He has a Ph.D. from George Mason University (Public
Policy), M.A. from Claremont Graduate University (International Political Economy), and a B.S. (Environmental Policy
Analysis and Planning) and a B.A. (Economics) from the University of California, Davis.
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