AAS 293 / Fall 2019
Class Proceedings Schedule

NOTE
You must also study any images that may be present in a reading. (If there are captions then summarize them in your notes.) Check if a reading has subheadings; if they are present use them as a guide to organize your notes. With rare exception, I will not ask you about dates and names of places. Instead, what you should concentrate on is the "what," and the "why," and the implications / consequences. (E.g. what were the main facts of, say, the rebellion, why did it occur, and what were the consequences for society at large.) Where the reading is an overview of, say, a system (e.g. slavery) or a major event (e.g. the Civil War) then identify the main themes and consequences. In case of definitions, obviously concentrate on the main elements of the definition. If there are images in the definition, then study those too. This schedule is subject to change, depending upon how well the class is able to handle the topics covered. Consequently, it may not be possible to cover all topics (including the one you may consider as your favorite). Important: Any reading assignment written by the instructor should be considered an extension of class lectures and therefore must take precedence over other assigned materials.<-- Read this sentence again.


WEEK 1


Class no. 1: Monday / August 26
Topic(s): Introduction: Course Overview (Course Themes; Requirements; Pedagogy; Learning Outcomes)
Subtopic(s): Primary focus of course: sociological perspectives on law from the perspective of intersectionality (race, gender, class, disability, etc.) Pedagogy: emphasis on analysis, not just description; relevance of course; democracy and social justice; race-class-gender-disablility and the intersectionality of oppression. Example: space exploration (questions of human relationships [race, gender, sexuality, etc.] do not go away in space); gender and sexual harassment; patriarchy. Footnote: Is space exploration a form of escapism? Another question: If humanity has to quit earth and decides to colonize another planet, will all races/ethnicities be represented on this project?
Foundational Knowledge (Concepts/Theories): Sociology of Law; Intersectionality
Hidden Curriculum: Norms of a Research University:
 
 

Assignment(s):

►Purchase textbook.
Film trailer: "Interstellar"


Class no. 2: Wednesday / August 28
Topic(s): Policing, the Justice System, and Race in the U.S.
Subtopic(s): Policing and rule of law in the U.S.; Comparison: policing and rule of law abroad; policing as an instrument of social control; Racial stereotypes and policing.

Foundational Knowledge (Concepts/Theories): Rule of Law; Democracy (procedural, authentic, interpersonal); Comparative Race Studies; Social Control.
Hidden Curriculum: Norms of a Research University:
 
Prohibition against sexual Harassment (U.B. policy).

Assignment(s):
Slide images on Democracy. View and study items DE-1 through DE-10 available via this online "click path": Materials for Course Assignments ---> Part H (Visual Texts II...) ---> Slide Images (Thought-Provoking...) ---> Section A ---> Democracy. 
Film assignment: la Haine. (Available on reserve in the Undergraduate Library.)
Study items 8 and 9 of Section Two of the syllabus packet.



WEEK 2



Class no. 1: Monday / September 2
School Break


Class no. 2: Wednesday / September 4
Topic(s):
As Above.
Subtopic(s):
Historical background to race and policing (fugitive slave patrols); Black codes; Lynching versus the rule of law; White racial riots; Gender and law: sexual violence against black women 
Foundational Knowledge (Concepts/Theories):
Political economy of slavery; Race as a proxy for class; Racialization.
Hidden Curriculum: Norms of a Research University:
Academic Freedom (as defined by U.B.)
Assignment(s):
Textbook: All front matter (acknowledgement page, Derek Bell's Foreword, the preface, and the introduction--including the dedication page) + pages 51-78.

Study this background reading on slavery in general available here   
Study this background reading on slavery in the U.S. available here   
WEEK 3



Class no. 1: Monday / September 9
Topic(s):
As Above. 
Subtopic(s):
Prison labor for hire (quasi-slavery); Police brutality: the past; Footnote on film excerpt: Native Americans and the loss of their lands; Footnote: comparison with South Africa (whites and the land question)
Foundational Knowledge (Concepts/Theories):
Stereotypes; Consent decrees; Class; Natural Law of Prior Claim; Jim Crow
Hidden Curriculum: Norms of a Research University:
Classroom etiquette and professionalism (UB policy as outlined in the Undergraduate Course Catalog).  
Assignment(s):

Textbook: As above.
Film excerpt: The Journey of August King (only first 20 minutes)
Study the definition of stereotypes (including any accompanying images) available via this "click path": Materials for Course Assignments ---> Part B (Course Glossary...) ---> Stereotypes. 

 

Class no. 2: Wednesday / September 11
Topic(s):
As above.
Subtopic(s):
Police brutality: the present; "Black Lives Matter" movement and civic engagement; Unreasonable search and seizure.
Foundational Knowledge (Concepts/Theories):
Civic engagement; Civil society; Civil rights; Human rights.
Hidden Curriculum: Norms of a Research University:
 
 

Assignment(s):
Textbook: pages 78-98
Film assignment: Great Debaters. (Available on reserve in the Undergraduate Library.)

Democracy as defined in the Course Glossary. Study the definition (including any accompanying images) available via this "click path": Materials for Course Assignments ---> Part B (Course Glossary...) ---> Democracy 




WEEK 4



Class no. 1: Monday / September 16
Topic(s):
As above. 
Subtopic(s):
Racial profiling: stop and frisk; Race and the beginnings of the modern prison industrial complex.
Foundational Knowledge (Concepts/Theories):
As above; plus "visual literacy"; cinematic verisimilitude and race/ethnic marginalization.
Hidden Curriculum: Norms of a Research University:
 

Assignment(s):

Textbook: pages 98-116. 
As above: Democracy...
Study the first two pages of item no. 3 of Section 3 of the Syllabus Packet.
Film Trailers: Darkest Hour; Dunkirk.
►Study these film reviews: of Darkest Hour, and Dunkirk. (Concerns racism and textual erasure)

 
Class no. 2: Wednesday / September 18
Test/Quiz




WEEK 5



Class no. 1: Monday / September 23
Topic(s):
Background: U.S. Civil War and Constitutional Democracy 
Subtopic(s):
Abolition of slavery; 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendment to the Constitution; African American Participation in the Civil War; The Civil War and Native Americans
Foundational Knowledge (Concepts/Theories):
Due Process; States' rights versus Federal rights and the 10th Amendment.
Hidden Curriculum: Norms of a Research University:
  
Assignment(s):

Study the biography of
abolitionist Frederick Douglass here.
Study the biography of abolitionist Martin R. Delaney here.
Study the biography of
Bishop Henry McNeil Turner here.

Study items 1, 2, and 3 of a packet of readings on "Brown v. Board of Education" available as reading no. RCR-9(a) which you can access via this "click path": Materials for Course Assignments ---> Part A (Readings) ---> RCR-9(a): Reading (same as...."
Study President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, available as reading no. HU-5, which you can access via this "click path": Materials for Course Assignments ---> Part A (Readings) ---> HU-5: Lincoln's.... 


Class no. 2: Wednesday / September 25
Topic(s):
As above.
Subtopic(s):
Voting: the backbone of procedural democracy; Dredd Scott v. Sandford (1857) and the 14th Amendment; The Colfax Massacre and the Enforcement Act of 1870; Women's struggle for the right to vote (suffrage and the 19th Amendment); Plessy v. Ferguson (1896); Niagara Movement and the Founding of the NAACP; Grandfather clauses and voting rights; Native Americans and citizenship; Asian Americans and citizenship; Terrorism against and murder of voter registration activists; Disenfranchisement of ex-felons; Voter suppression tactics today.
Foundational Knowledge (Concepts/Theories):
Due Process; 5th Amendment;
Gerrymandering
Hidden Curriculum: Norms of a Research University:
  
Assignment(s):

Textbook: pages 177-205.

Study the Voting Rights Act of 1965 here.
(Study the images as well)
Study the reading on the 2013 Supreme Court decision
(Shelby County v. Holder) regarding the Voting Rights Act of 1965 here.

Study the Niagara Movement Declaration of Principles here.

 


WEEK 6

 


Class no. 1: Monday / September 30
Topic(s):
Property Rights (Ownership, Renting, Leasing, etc.) 
Subtopic(s):
Native Americans and the theft of their lands; African Americans and the broken promise of 40 acres and a mule.
Foundational Knowledge (Concepts/Theories):
Vi
sual literacy skills; Reconstruction (in U.S. history); The divine rights of the "civilized" (versus the "savage") and the legitimation of predation.
Hidden Curriculum: Norms of a Research University:
 
 

Assignment(s):

Textbook: pages 207-228.

 
Class no. 2: Wednesday / October 2
Topic(s):
As above.
Subtopic(s):
Racialized housing policies 
Foundational Knowledge (Concepts/Theories):
As above.
Hidden Curriculum: Norms of a Research University:
 
 

Assignment(s):
Textbook: pages: As above. 




WEEK 7



Class no. 1: Monday / October 7
Paper


Class no. 2: Wednesday / October 9
Topic(s):
As above.
Subtopic(s):
Predatory lending; "Redlining" and race; Education and residential segregation; Brown v. Board of Education-I (1954) and
Brown v. Board of Education-II (1955)
Foundational Knowledge (Concepts/Theories):
"Separate but equal"--a bogus doctrine; Redlining.
Hidden Curriculum: Norms of a Research University:
 

Assignment(s):
►Textbook: pages 228-250.

►Study this entire packet of readings on Brown v. Board of Education available as reading
no. RCR-9(a) (including any accompanying images) available via this "click path": Materials for Course Assignments ---> Part A (Readings) ---> RCR-9(a): Reading (same as....
Textbook: Foreword (by Derek Bell)

►Study this reading (including any images) here. (Affirmative action: education--Harvard case)
►Study this reading (including any images) here. (MLK's class struggle against poverty and militarism.)



WEEK 8



Class no. 1: Monday / October 14
Test 2


Class no. 2: Wednesday / October 16
Topic(s):
Foundational Knowledge: Race/Racism from a Generic Perspective.
Subtopic(s):
Timeline of Racialization of United States; Racism as an ideology (of oppression); Racism as institutional structures; Racism as behavioral practice; Race as myth (the social construction of race).
Foundational Knowledge (Concepts/Theories): Essentialism; Other/Otherness; Ideology.
Hidden Curriculum: Norms of a Research University:
Academic Tenure. 

Assignment(s):
Study these definitions (including any accompanying images) available via this "click path": Materials for Course Assignments ---> Part B (Course Glossary...) ---> Essentialism; Other/Otherness; Ideology.  
►Study item no. 13 of Section Two of the Syllabus Packet (Tenure Review Process...)
Study item no. RCR-26(a) (including any accompanying images) available via this "click path": Materials for Course Assignments ---> Part A (Readings) ---> RCR-26(a): Reading. 



WEEK 9


Class no. 1: Monday / October 21
Topic(s):
As Above.
Subtopic(s):
Societal role of race/racism; varieties of racism; intersectionality--relationship to other ideologies of oppression.
Foundational Knowledge (Concepts/Theories): ethnicism; class; objective interests versus subjective interests; meritocracy; structure versus agency  
Hidden Curriculum: Norms of a Research University:
 
 

Assignment(s):

Study item no. CW/CS-32(a) (including any accompanying images) available via this "click path": Materials for Course Assignments ---> Part A (Readings) ---> CW/CS32(a): Reading--Democracy.... 
Study item no. CW/CS-12 (including any accompanying images) available via this "click path": Materials for Course Assignments ---> Part A (Readings) ---> CW/CS12: Reading--Democracy....  Textbook: Foreword (by Derek Bell)
Study these definitions (including any accompanying images) available via this "click path": Materials for Course Assignments ---> Part B (Course Glossary...) ---> class; meritocracy; agency; social safety net.  
Study this reading (including any images):  Letter to NEA
View and digest this video on a steel nail manufacturing factory (about subjective versus objective interests). 

Study this reading (including any images) here.
Study this reading (including any images) here. (identity politics)
Study this reading (including any images) here.

Study this reading (including any images) here.
Film assignment: Places in the Heart. (Available on reserve in the Undergraduate Library.)


Class no. 2: Wednesday / October 23
Topic(s):
As above.
Subtopic(s):
Fallacy of the concept of "Reverse Discrimination"; Geographically specific varieties of racism (whiteness; Anti-Semitism; Islamophobia; racism/ethnicism as caste); Academic Study of Race/Racism (Marxism; Feminist Theory; Critical Race Theory; Racial Formation Theory).
Foundational Knowledge (Concepts/Theories):
Caste; plus the above subtopics.
Hidden Curriculum: Norms of a Research University:
The teenage brain and neuroplasticity. 
Assignment(s):
►Study the definition of race/racism (including any accompanying images) available via this "click path": Materials for Course Assignments ---> Part B (Course Glossary...) ---> Race/Racism.

Study this reading (including any images) here, and here. (Trumpism and whiteness)
Study this reading (including any images) here. (conservatives versus liberals/progressives)
Study this reading (including any images) here. (classism)
►Study item no. CW/CS32(a) (including any accompanying images) available via this "click path": Materials for Course Assignments ---> Part A (Readings) ---> CW/CS32(a): Reading... 
Study item no. "K" in item no. 1 of Section Three of the Syllabus Packet.

Study this reading (including any images)  here. (Critical race theory)



WEEK 10


Class no. 1: Monday / October 28
Topic(s):
Comparative Race Studies: South Africa--The Rule of Law (Past and Present)
Subtopic(s): Apartheid and the corruption of rule of law; Detention without trial; pass laws; residential segregation; Anti-Apartheid Struggle for freedom.
Foundational Knowledge (Concepts/Theories):
Apartheid; Banning of persons.
Hidden Curriculum: Norms of a Research University:
 
 

Assignment(s):

Study the Nelson Mandela biographical timeline (including any accompanying images) available here.
Study this reading (including any images) here. (Non-violent resistance: Gandhi and Race in South Africa--I)
Study this reading (including any images) here. (Non-violent resistance: Gandhi and Race in South Africa--II)
View this trailer here. (An Act of Defiance)

 
Class no. 2: Wednesday / October 30
Topic(s):
As above.
Subtopic(s):
Rule of law in post-apartheid South Africa today.
Foundational Knowledge (Concepts/Theories):
Xenophobia  (Note: whether its called ethnicism or racism or xenophobia, to those victimized by it any differences in what these terms designate are irrelevant.Here are some visual examples of this point.)    
Hidden Curriculum: Norms of a Research University:  
Assignment(s):
►Study this reading (including any images) here. (Constitutional Court ruling)
Study this reading (including any images) here. (Marikana Massacre)
Study this reading (including any images) here. (Ethnicism)
Study this reading (including any images) here. (Ethnicism)
Study this reading (including any images) here. (Explaining the ethnicism)

Explore this reading here. (More info on ethnicism)
Study this reading (including any images) here. (Ethnic/racist violence elsewhere in the world)
Study this reading (including any images) here. (Racist/ethnicist violence in the U.S.)



WEEK 11

Class no. 1: Monday / November 4
Topic(s): Immigration and Race/Ethnicity
Subtopic(s):
Race and scapegoating; Ethnicity as a proxy for race; First Amendment Rights and religious discrimination.  
Foundational Knowledge (Concepts/Theories):
Scapegoating
; Islamophobia;
Hidden Curriculum: Norms of a Research University:
 
 

Assignment(s):
Study this reading (including any images) here.
Study this reading (including any images) here.
Study about this Supreme Court case: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc. (2015), here.
Study this reading (including any images) here.
Study this reading (including any images) here.
Film assignment: Amistad (on reserve in the Undergraduate Library) 
 




Class no. 2: Wednesday / November 6
Test 3



WEEK 12


Class no. 1: Monday / November 11
Topic(s): As Above.
Subtopic(s):
As above.
Foundational Knowledge (Concepts/Theories):
Hidden Curriculum: Norms of a Research University:
Choosing a major.
Assignment(s):

Study this reading (including any images) here. (Deportation of Mexican Americans by President Herbert Hoover)
Study this reading (including any images) here. (Undocumented Irish immigrants--immune from Trumpism?)
Study item no. IM-12 (including any accompanying images) available via this "click path": Materials for Course Assignments ---> Part A (Readings) ---> IM-12: Reading.
►Study item no. "M" in item no. 1 of Section Three of the Syllabus Packet.

Study this reading--I (including any images) here. (Ethnicism among blacks--I.)
Study this reading--II (including any images)
here. (Ethnicism among blacks--II.)  



Class no. 2:
Wednesday / November 13

Topic(s):
Race, Gender, and Law
Subtopic(s):
Black feminism; The U.S. Supreme Court and Forced Sterilization of Women.
Foundational Knowledge (Concepts/Theories):
Eugenics; Patriarchy; Misogyny.
Hidden Curriculum: Norms of a Research University:
 
 

Assignment(s):
►Study this reading (including any images) here.
Study item no. GL-1 (including any accompanying images) available via this "click path": Materials for Course Assignments ---> Part A (Readings) ---> GL-1: Reading--Forced Sterilization.... 
Study the definition of Patriarchy (including any accompanying images) available via this "click path": Materials for Course Assignments ---> Part B (Course Glossary...) ---> Patriarchy.



WEEK 13



Class no. 1: Monday / November 18
Topic(s): As above.
Subtopic(s):
The nomination of Justice Clarence Thomas; Title IX and the Civil Rights Movement.
Foundational Knowledge (Concepts/Theories):
The U.S. Supreme Court: a politicized institution.
Hidden Curriculum: Norms of a Research University:
 

Assignment(s):

►Study this reading (including any images) here. (Clarence Thomas; Anita Hill)
►Study this reading (including any images) here. (Clarence Thomas as U.S. Supreme Court Justice)
►Study this reading (including any images) here. (The making of Title IX)
Study item no. L-5 (including any accompanying images) available via this "click path": Materials for Course Assignments ---> Part A (Readings) ---> L-5: Reading... 

►Study this reading (including any images) here. (Sexual violence/harassment in Agriculture) 



Class no. 2: Wednesday / November 20

Topic(s): Race and the Death Penalty
Subtopic(s):
The Death Penalty.
Foundational Knowledge (Concepts/Theories):
Life imprisonment as a societal price for saving the innocent from death. 
Hidden Curriculum: Norms of a Research University:
 

Assignment(s):

Study item no. RDP-1 (including any accompanying images) available via this "click path": Materials for Course Assignments ---> Part A (Readings) ---> RDP-1: Reading...



WEEK 14



Class no. 1: Monday / November 25
Topic(s): As above.
Subtopic(s):
 
Police violence against black women; Patriarchy, intersectionality, and the U.S. prison system.
Foundational Knowledge (Concepts/Theories):
Hidden Curriculum: Norms of a Research University:
 
 

Assignment(s):

►Study this reading (including any images) here. (Police violence)
►Study this reading (including any images) here. (Incarceration of women)
Film assignment: In the Name of the Father (available on reserve in the Undergraduate Library)
Film assignment: Fruitvale Station 


 
Class no. 2: Wednesday / November 27
Fall Recess




WEEK 15



Class no. 1: Monday / December 2
Topic(s): As above.
Subtopic(s): Facts about the death penalty and race; Race, the death penalty, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Foundational Knowledge (Concepts/Theories):
Hidden Curriculum: Norms of a Research University: 
Assignment(s):
►Study these statistics available here.
Textbook: pages 107 through 113.
Study this reading here. (U.S. Supreme Court)




Class no. 2: Wednesday / December 4
Test 4



EXAM WEEK

Final Exam (See your exam schedule on your MYUB HUB page)

Topic(s): Race, Disability, and Law.
Subtopic(s):
Foundational Knowledge (Concepts/Theories):
Hidden Curriculum: Norms of a Research University: 
Assignment(s):
Study item no. D-1 (including any accompanying images) available via this "click path": Materials for Course Assignments ---> Part A (Readings) ---> D-1: Reading... 
►Study this reading (including any images) here. (Black disablement: A historical perspective) 
►See also announcement on class home page on what the exam will cover.




ADDITIONAL TOPICS WISHLIST

People, if this had been a two-semester sequential course, then I would have taught about race and law from the perspective of these topics as well--in addition to discussing some of the topics above in greater depth--not listed in any particular order:
  • Sports
  • the U.S. Prison Industrial Complex 
  • the U.S. Military Industrial Complex
  • Sexual Violence and Harassment
  • human trafficking (modern-day slavery)
  • the Race-Class Nexus
  • Other Tools of Analysis: Racial Formation Theory; and Critical Race Theory
  • Healthcare
  • Environmental Pollution
  • Climate Change
  • Public Transportation
  • the Economy
  • Disaster Relief
  • Urban Planning
  • International Law (The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; International Criminal Court, International Court of Justice; etc.)
  • Comparative Race Studies (specifically, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, France, and United Kingdom)
  • Personal Finance and Retirement