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| History Department |
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History
385: Law & Society |
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Dr. Henry Kamerling |
History
385 Syllabus - Schedule of Readings
: The study of law and its relationship to society provides the historian a unique window through which to view the past. Laws are intended to represent the collective will of society. They also reflect societal values and mark the boundaries of acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Criminal sanctions in particular offer a gauge with which one can measure the importance a given society or time attached to certain actions, values, and laws. Michael Stephen Hindus argues that, "the criminal sanction is unique,"Course Overview
…criminal laws are intended to embody the most general norms of a society, whereas the other sanctions are parochial (in the case of the church), limited in scope (as in business and commerce), or local (families and neighborhoods). Furthermore, violators of the criminal law are dealt with by the institution that, in theory at least, represent the entire collective will of a society. Therefore, the criminal justice system is intended to deal with those offenses that are both so significant that the other forms of control and sanction are not sufficiently effective and so threatening that the entire resources of the state may be marshaled against them. (Hindus, Prison & Plantation, xxii)
While Hindus' assessment of the special function of criminal laws is compelling it raises some fundamental questions about the relationship between all laws and the society which produces them. Where does the authority for making, enacting, and enforcing laws come from? What role do different groups possess constructing the societal norms upon which our legal system is based?
For example, while it was acceptable for women to hanged for practicing witchcraft in colonial New England, it is inconceivable that such a crime or punishment would occur today. Some time between the 1690s and the Revolutionary War era the crime of witchcraft and the practice of burning witches became unacceptable to the larger American public. Why? What changed in the intervening years to cause such a shift in thinking about the nature of criminality, sin, and deviance in American society?
This course will attempt to explore possible answers to these and other like questions throughout the course of the semester. At its base the course will examine the central question of how our society draws the boundary between acceptable and unacceptable behavior and how this negotiated boarder has shifted over time and why.
Basic Course Material, Requirements and
Information
Explanation of
Grading Breakdown
Attendance Policy: Attendance counts as 5% of your final grade and affects
other grades you will receive in this course like class participation. There are
no "free" absences. Excused absences are possible but must be cleared
with me, in advance if possible. Each CAS class meets twice a week and
runs an hour and fifteen minuets long. I consider each class as a class and a
half. Therefore, missing one class is equivalent to 1.5 absences. If
you show up late to class you may be marked as absent and it is your
responsibility to see that I make the correct changes. This can only be done on
the day you show up late and not after. Two "late" marks will
count as one absence. Each un-excused absence will be factored in as a third off
your final attendance grade. In addition, each absence will also take one point
off your final grade for the course. Finally, absences, excused or un-excused,
negatively impact your class participation grade.
At the start of every class there will be one five to ten minute quiz
over the reading. Quizzes will be simple and are designed just to check and make
sure you have done the reading. You may use a hand written 3x5 note card for
quizzes. Students who show up early to class may start their quizzes early. Quiz
time will not last longer than 10 past the hour. This class meets three times a
week for an hour. Classes will be divided between lecture and discussion. You
are expected to have read the material in advance and come to class ready to
discuss the day’s assignment. Bring all your books with you to each class.
Assignment and Evaluation: Students taking this course will be
evaluated on the basis of the following assignments and requirements:
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Assignment |
Percent |
Date Due |
Assignment |
Percent |
Date Due |
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Attendance |
5% |
Class Participation |
10% |
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Homework |
10% |
Legal Issues in the News: Class Presentation |
20% |
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Quizzes |
10% |
Legal Issues in the News: Law Journal |
15% |
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| Death Penalty Essay | 5% |
Final Paper |
25% |
Grading Homework:
Homework submitted will earn only a
check. If all homework is submitted, the student will earn all the points
towards their final grade. Homework will earn a "check -" a
"check" or a "check +." These indicate unsatisfactory
work, satisfactory work, or exemplary work. Two "check -" marks
on a student's homework will result in a "zero" mark in the gradebook.
This is equivalent to as a failure to submit a homework assignment.
Integrated Electronic Learning: Throughout this course we will have
class sessions devoted to exploring history using the emerging information
technologies. You will need to obtain email accounts and it is essential to
develop a familiarity with its uses. Study questions, assignments, and
electronic discussion topics will regularly be posted to your account. Some
assignments will also require access to WWW pages and gopher cites. You will be
able to complete such projects in the school's computer lab.
Required Reading:
Almost all of your reading for this course comes from our five main texts,
listed below. Some additional readings for this course come in the form of
articles that I have photocopied and placed on reserve in the library. I have
made three copies of all reserve readings so that access and availability are
not an issue. All readings are placed in a three-ring binder titled, "Law
& Society Readings," under my name. On the syllabus reserve
reading is indicated by the symbol ®. I have also placed almost all the
books and journals where the reserve reading-articles come from on reserve.
There are four books you will need to purchase at the bookstore. These are:
Required
1. Kai T. Erickson, Wayward Puritans: A Study in the Sociology of
Deviance
2. Waldo E. Martin, editor, Brown versus the Board of Education:
A Brief History with Documents
Suggested
1. Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law 2nd ed.
(New York: Touchstone Book, 1985)
3. Jonathan Haar, A Civil Action (New York: Vintage
Books, 1995)
4. Helen Prejean, Dead Man Walking (New York: Vintage Books,
1993)
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Undergraduate
Programs McColl
Graduate School of Business Graduate
and Adult Education |
Queens University of Charlotte
1900 Selwyn Avenue Charlotte, NC 28274
Modified by: H. Kamerling