Mirror Sites:
CSUDH Habermas UWP

California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Created: June 6, 2001
Latest update: September 1, 2001
jeannecurran@habermas.org

Three texts:

• Between Vengeance and Forgiveness, Minow. Very readable.
• Constitutive Criminology at Work, Henry and Milovanovic. Most difficult of the three texts to read, but solid theoretically. Develops constitutive theory on which we will base much of our discussion.
• Social Justice/Criminal Justice, Arrigo. Contains Pepinsky's Peacemaking Primer.
• AND a pocket dictionary.
• Online Resources for Sociology of Law

  I chose these texts because they give a good sense of law as we are coming to regard it in the 21st Century. Who defines crime? Who defines success within a social group? Who decides that it is OK to kill? Under what cricumstances? And once we have killed (and we have), how do we return to peace and justice? Is there such a thing as justice? What defines justice? Who defines justice? The reason I have laid such a heavy emphasis on crime this semester is that ending violence, providing justice for all, including social justice, is a focal point across the globe right now. Normative expectations are changing. Questions of morality and ethics are coming to the forefront. And we are constantly reminded that there are somewhere "Other" voices we have an obligation to hear.

  You may substitute one of the books from Texts for Your Choosing. This will allow you to follow your own specific interests. Bear in mind that you will still need to follow the lecture notes on site, since you will be expected to understand the theoretical concepts on which the course is founded.

  • Weekly Readings and
    Suggested Measures of Learning

    Week 1 - Learning to use the site.

    Week 2:

    • Exercise 1: Theory to Policy to Practice and Back
      
    • jeanne's notes on Theory, Policy, Practice and sample responses from a class in Administrative Law we called Agencies.

    • Why choose Arrigo?

    • Studying Ahead

      Start with:

      • Introduction to Oppression and Revolution Online.
      • Knowingness and Oppression Online.
      • Learning Theory and Oppression Online.

        These files are set up to teach you the fundamental concepts we will need to begin discussions on the sociology of law as it grows our of social justice. We will also investigate Lessnoff's description of the theories of justice as presented by

      • Lessnoff on Habermas' Theory of Communication Online.
      • Political Philosophers of the Twentieth Century Online.
      • Will put up files on Rawls and Nozick later.

        Then read:

      • The Sociology of Law Handbook Curran and Takata. Online.
      • Peacemaking Primer by Hal Pepinsky.

        Also in your copy of Arrigo's Social Justice/Criminal Justice Hardcopy.

      Sociology of Law Lecture Notes and Exercises:

      • Summary Lecture on Categorical Thinking and Affect in Legal Reasoning
      • Relationship Between Law and Social Change
      • Critical Race Theory
      • On Legitimacy and Justice
      • On Accountability and Privilege

      • The Unstated Assumptions of Modernism
      • Consistency and Conflict
      • Downsizing and Forgiveness
      • Diaphanous Privilege
      • Stefan Szczelkun's Summary of Habermas' Theory of Communicative Action
      • Quinney's Critique of Rawl's Theory of Justice
      • On Feelings of Exclusion
      • Intersectionality and Identity

        Some basic theoretical concepts

        That should keep you busy until mid-July when the texts are due in. jeanne

Online Resources:

• White Man's Ghost Dance by Bob Black. A libertarian attack on constitutional conservatives.

• The Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice Site devoted to reducing "society's reliance on the use of incarceration as a solution to social problems." Left perspective. Criminal defense.

• TalkLeft "The on-line source for liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news."

• CrimeLynx Resource Center for Criminal Defense.

• Legal Research Links from CrimeLynx.

• Language and Law: Bibliography

• The Equal Justice Network