How this Course will be Taught
- First, you must have
access to a reliable
internet and a
computer--if you do not have one please use the student computers on
campus. Important note about web browsers: If you have any difficulty
accessing online materials in this course, especially if you are an
Apple device user, then please use either Chrome, or better still, Firefox as your web browser.
-
There are no required textbooks for this course. Instead, homework materials
will be available online 24/7 to give you flexibility in how you manage
your time. NOTE: For copyright reasons they will be available only via
this class home page and NOT via UBLearns (see homework schedule
below). Homework assignments will consist of readings AND/OR films/documentaries. <-- Read this paragraph again.
- Reminder: this course is a seminar
course, not a lecture course. What is the difference? Unlike in a
lecture course, in a seminar course student participation is central.
- This is a heavily test-based course, to ensure that you are doing your homework assignments.
- The term "homework" refers to
everything you are assigned to do in this class via announcements on
this class home page, and/or via emails to you, and/or via UBLearns.
About Emails (and other ways of getting in touch)
- To foster professionalism, when you send me e-mails, they must be in
a professional format; otherwise, you may not get a response. Example
of professional format: Begin with “Dear Instructor”;… and end with
“Sincerely”, …. plus, your name as it appears in school records.
- Emails must be sent only via UB mail and NOT via UBLearns.
- The subject heading of your email must always include these two
items: the course number, and what your email is about in a few words.
- Emails will usually be read and answered on the days this course is
scheduled. Again, all e-mails must be sent via regular UB e-mail (and
not UBLearns).
- Please do not send emails with
questions that have already been answered. If you do, you will be asked
to go back and read the relevant announcement / instruction that
answers your question.
- It is really important that
when you write about some clarification you need regarding an
announcement, an instruction, etc. that you quote the exact sentence or
paragraph that you are writing about. (Quoting does NOT mean taking a
picture.)
- Other ways of getting in touch:
(a) Talk to me before or after class.
(b) In addition to office hours, contact via a zoom appointment is also
available; however to discourage learned helplessness, AND to have a
record of our discussion, I prefer to use email first to determine if
your issue can be resolved quickly.
(c) If you see me anywhere on campus, you are always, always welcome to talk to me. :)
Course Requirements/Grading Policy
- Tests/quizzes altogether will be worth 60% of your final course grade.
-
There will be a final exam
(worth 20%) during exam week.
-
There will be a two-part test-based term paper project, it will be worth 20% of your final course grade.
- Letter
grade equivalents of percentage points: A =97-100 A-
=93-96 B+ =90-92 B =85-89 B- =80-84
C+ =73-79 C =66-72 C- =60-65
D+ =55-59 D =51-54 F =0-50
- Most
communications about the course as it progresses will be via course announcements on this page and/or via emails (or in class).
You must read your emails from the instructor regularly AND save them in an email folder you must
create in your email account. IMPORTANT: See also note above about emails format.
- You are NOT permitted to use AI (artificial intelligence, such as
ChatGPT) to fulfill any of the requirements for this course--including
homework, tests, term paper, etc.
- Electronic devices of any kind cannot be used in class without instructor's permission.
- Attendance is absolutely mandatory in this course. Points will be assigned for attendance.
- IMPORTANT: If you are still registered for this course beyond the final
add/drop deadline for course registration, then it will be assumed that
you have thoroughly read, understood, and agreed to abide by all course
requirements for this class. In fact, you may be asked to submit a
disclaimer that you read the syllabus diligently
and will fully abide with all the course requirements, as well as all mandatory university requirements.
What this Course is About
- The principal purpose of this course is to
explore that part of U.S. law that has dealt with the human rights /
civil rights of African Americans (and, by implication, other
racial ethnic groups in U.S. society: Asian Americans, Hispanic
Americans, Native Americans, etc.). Our objective will be to explore the
interaction of law, race, and society from the perspective of issues
such as culture, history, gender, identity, politics, class, the media,
etc., and from the perspective of the historical evolution of
democracy in the United States. Please note that the primary focus of
this course will be on how law impacts society, and how society impacts
law. Less attention will be devoted to the detailed specifics of how law
is decided in terms of previous judicial decisions (referred to as case law).
Ultimately, that is in the final analysis, this course is about
"democracy" in its wider sense, hence you will also be introduced to
definitions, concepts, theories, etc., via primarily images of slides
(see link below toward the end of this page). Additionally, because the
course is also expected to fulfill Gen Ed requirements, you will also be
introduced to material on succeeding in a research university, as well
as ways to enhance your executive function skills that can help with
meeting this objective.
- Because the course is also expected to meet Gen
Ed requirements, you will also be introduced to material on succeeding
in a research university, as well as ways to enhance your executive function skills and critical thinking skills that can help with meeting this objective.
- Homework, on average, will require about one "concentrated" hour per day
of your time
(which equals to about 7-8 concentrated hours per week--this is similar
to doing 3
hours of class time, plus about 4 hours of homework for an in-person
class). Note: A concentrated hour is an hour that requires full
concentration from you--that means no distractions of any kind!
- The learning outcomes for this course are available via the link below.
About the Homework
- Homework assignments will comprise readings AND/OR films/documentaries. Note:
As noted above, each film/documentary assignment will usually consist of two
sections--either together within one video and/or sometimes separately.
Section one will comprise class lecture materials (comprising a combination of materials such as: notes, slides,
film/video excerpts, still images, etc.), while section two will be the
film itself. Yes, for test purposes both sections will be equally
important.
- The term "homework"
refers to everything you are assigned to do in this class via
announcements on this class home page and/or via emails to you, and/or via UBLearns, and/or announcements in class.
- How to access the homework assignment for
each week: follow the
"click path" indicated for each assignment below. For example, to access
a film titled "Great Debaters" click on the link "Copyright Page," then
after reading the copyright notice proceed to PART A, and then after
bringing up that page click on
the Class Films List, and then locate the film. Clicking on the film may
require you to enter your UB username and password.
- Homework should be done without any distractions of
any kind, that is no multitasking (e.g., web browsing, emails, computer
games, gossiping, etc., etc.) Multitasking is a huge impediment to
learning--please read this article on multitasking.
- To what should you pay close attention, as you go through these assignments? Everything!
(Repeat, everything!) Why everything? First, because completing the
homework in its entirety with absolute diligence is in itself a
learning
objective in this course, given that most (if not all) of you have never
in your entire lives ever
encountered the subject matter these assignments cover during a course of study in school. Second, because the
homework load in this course is not that heavy.
- To create your own subtitles, in case you need them, for material that does not have subtitles follow the instructions here.
- You
should take notes, but your notes should be very brief--repeat, very
brief--just a few key words per scene / theme / concept / idea.
You will need these notes for tests to help your remember material,
since tests are open notebook.
About the Tests
-
Majority of test
questions will be aimed at determining if you did do the homework at all
AND that you did the homework diligently.
- Tests will be open notebook (the key word here
is notebook). However, your notes must be very, very brief aimed primarily at
reminding you of key scenes and/or paragraphs.
-
Tests will take
place in class. That is, all tests will be in-class tests,
meaning they must be taken in class and not at home--even if they are on
UB Learns--for reasons of academic integrity. Otherwise, your test will
be deleted from the system (and additional actions may be taken for
cheating, including the possibility of being assigned an F grade for the
entire course).
- Attempting to
take a test without studying for it constitutes a form of cheating.
- Please note: if you fail to take a test on the scheduled date and time
without a documented excuse acceptable to me, you may not be allowed to
do a make-up.
General Course Administrative Policies
(a) Student Responsibility
The University’s “Student Responsibility Statement” specifies as follows: “By accepting responsibility for their education,
students enhance the development of their academic, social and career
goals. As a condition of enrollment, students are responsible for
reviewing, understanding, and abiding by the university’s regulations,
procedures, requirements and deadlines as described in official
publications, including the university’s undergraduate catalog, UB
websites, and official university email communications. In addition, all
students are required to positively affirm their knowledge of UB’s
Student Conduct Rules, University Standards and Administrative
Regulations (available here) prior to their inaugural semester at UB.
Asserting a lack of knowledge of university regulations will not be
accepted as a basis for an exception to these regulations.” <--
Folks, read this last sentence again. Here are links for the UB Student Code of Conduct and the Undergraduate Catalog. In other words, this course strictly abides by university policies on:
(a) academic honesty;
(b) discrimination;
(c) sexual harassment;
(d) academic freedom (see below); and
(e) classroom etiquette (available via the Undergraduate Catalog).
(b) Disability
If you have a disability, reasonable accommodations for equal access to this course should be requested through Accessibility Resources in Capen Hall.
(c) Other Essential Matters
- You must know how to navigate the internet, including accessing Brightspace (UBLearns). You
must take notes on the homework material, but your notes must be very,
very brief (about two or three words per page or scene, as you go
through the material--taking detailed notes means you are not digesting
the material). You will need these notes for tests, since tests will be open notebook.
- You are NOT permitted to use AI (artificial intelligence, such as
ChatGPT) to fulfill any of the requirements for this course--including
homework, tests, term paper, etc.
- If you have any difficulty
accessing online materials in this course, especially of you are an
Apple device user, then please use either Chrome, or better still, Firefox as your web browser.
- Incompletes will be assigned only in the rarest of cases.
<-- Read this sentence again. Note that university policy is that
incompletes are assigned at the discretion of the instructor. Moreover,
incompletes can only be assigned if the student has maintained a passing
grade in the course, and there is a well-defined pathway to meeting the
incomplete course assignment(s).
- If you claim that you cannot see a link for
an item (or some other essential information), send me a clear
picture of your ENTIRE computer screen,
edge to edge (meaning EVERYTHING visible to you on your screen must be
included in the picture), as an email attachment. Reminder: IF, in the extremely rare instance,
there is a missing link
(or some other information) it will affect the entire class, not just
you. (The internet does not discriminate against specific individuals,
whoever they may be.)
- University regulations stipulate that any modification of course
requirements for one student must be made available to other students
too (unless it is a disability-related modification).
- IMPORTANT: If you are still registered for this course beyond the final
add/drop deadline for course registration, then it will be assumed that
you have thoroughly read, understood, and agreed to abide by all course
requirements for this class. In fact, you may be asked to submit a
disclaimer that you read the syllabus diligently
and will fully abide with all the course requirements, as well as all mandatory university requirements.
Academic Freedom
People, because of the kinds of topics we will be covering in this
course (relating to race, gender, class, democracy, the rule of law,
etc., etc.) which may sometimes provoke controversy among some of you,
it is really important that you understand the university’s policy on
academic freedom as it relates to faculty. This policy reads in part: The University supports the principle of academic freedom
as a concept intrinsic to the achievement of its institutional goals.
This principle implies a trust in the integrity and responsibility of
the members of the academic community. Samuel P. Capen, former
Chancellor of the University of Buffalo, who is remembered for the
tradition of academic freedom he implemented during his leadership of
the University, said in 1935:
“Acceptance by an institution of the principles of academic freedom
implies that teachers in that institution are free to investigate any
subject, no matter how much it may be hedged about by taboos; that they
are free to make known the results of their investigation and their
reflection by word of mouth or in writing, before their classes or
elsewhere; that they are free as citizens to take part in any public
controversy outside the institution; that no repressive measures, direct
or indirect, will be applied to them no matter how unpopular they may
become through opposing powerful interests or jostling established
prejudices, and no matter how mistaken they may appear to be in the eyes
of members and friends of the institution; that their continuance in
office will be in all instances governed by the prevailing rules of
tenure and that their academic advancement will be dependent on their
scientific competence and will be in no way affected by the popularity
or unpopularity of their opinions or utterances….”
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