Week 3: Law & Social Change

Week of February 11, 2018 – Difference and More Habermas

 To stay on track,  1) finish up the research on your visual project topic and begin your annotated bibliography.

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Preparatory Readings:

• • Arrigo, Bruce. Social Justice/Criminal Justice. 
  • Crow Dog, Mary. Lakota Woman.
  • Tygiel, Jules. Baseball’s Great Experiment.
  • Rodriguez, Luis. Always Running.
  • Houston, Jeanne & James. Farewell to Manzanar.
  • Curran and Takata. Sociology of Law Handbook: Chapter 2.
    — Introduction
    — Chapter 1, part 1
    — Chapter 1, part 2
    — Chapter 2
  • Movies: “Sneetches” and “Zax” (to be shown in class) 

Lecture related links:

• • Theory, Policy, Practice
  • “Who’s Habermas? Why Habermas?”
  • W.I. Thomas “Definition of the Situation

Concepts to be covered:

• • private autonomy v. public autonomy
  • difference
  • dilemma of difference 
  • privileging subjectivity 
  • the Other
  • inclusion/exclusion 
  • You will be held accountable for the readings and discussion questions listed here. There will be no “testing.” That means that you will not have to live in anxious anticipation of what we will ask and how much you will have to know. Instead, I will provide weekly discussion questions, lectures, essays, and concepts I feel that you should know as a result of having taken this course. You will assure me of that learning and receive your grade for the questions and concepts about which you choose to write and talk about. In addition you will find detailed explanations and examples on our grading policies in the first week’s reading.

Discussion Questions:

Note: In order to answer these discussion questions, you will need to this week’s assigned readings and other materials. Due: Wednesday, February 14th.

1.   Select a current event (not discussed in class) that best illustrates Habermas’  discussion of private autonomy v. public autonomy.  Which should take priority and why?
2.   According to Martha Minow, what is the dilemma of difference? How does this relate to the Dr. Seuss stories shown in class?  

3.      What are the connections between Habermas and the focus of this course — law and social change.  

 

Going Beyond the Course Materials:

Note: If this week’s topics interest you, here are suggestions for going beyond:

• • Read Habermas’  Between Facts and Norms. 
  • Explore the following concepts: the Other, the dilemma of difference, privileging subjectivity, and the arrogance of knowingness. relationship between “law and social change.” Can laws cause social change? Or, does social change “change” laws? How? Why?

 Recommended Readings:

• Jurgen Habermas. Between Facts and Norms.
• Martha Minow. Making All the Difference: Exclusion, Inclusion and American Law.

Email me at: takata@uwp.edu

 

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Created: July 27, 2003

Latest Update: February 8, 2018