Law and Social Injustice

Professor: Jim Unnever (James D. Unnever, Ph.D., Duke, 1980)

Course #: SOCY 457
Office: Young Hall 220
Office Phone: 831-5130
Office Hours: TTH 1:00-2:00, 6:15-7:15

Home Page: http://www.runet.edu/~junnever
Course Home Pages: http://www.runet.edu/~junnever/law/socoflaw.htm and http://www.runet.edu/~junnever/lawlm/lawjava.html

Course Description

This course treats law as a dependent variable. Therefore, the emphasis of this course is on the historical political, economic, and social conditions that determined the structure and content of legal systems. We will cover three theories in substantial detail, Emile Durkheim-functional theory, Max Weber-capitalism and the rise of legal formalism, and Neo-Marxist’s analyses of the state, the rule of law, and legal structures. These perspectives are not compatible; their assumptions and explanations of the origin and purpose of our legal system radically differ. Thus, the primary goals of this course are as follows. One, to critically and objectively understand what are the social, political, and economic conditions that create the likelihood of the enactment of a law. Two, what are the processes by which laws are enacted and enforced. And; three for whom and what interests does the American capitalist legal system function. At the end of the semester, a feminist critique of the legal system will be presented.

Required Reading:

Sociology of Law, John Sutton

Grading

There are three essay exams. Each counts for 24 percent of your final grade. I will post on the web a list of essay questions at least one class period before the test. These questions reflect the material provided to you in class (class notes) and the required readings. From this list, I select one or two questions that you must answer, in class, without any notes or reference materials. I encourage you to form study groups, however, you are completely responsible for your in class answers. You can use these groups only to orally study the material from which the questions are drawn. You cannot circulate written answers to the questions. See your Student Handbook for the definition of what constitutes cheating.

You must take the final only at the hour and day it is scheduled. I give the final exam during finals week. It is not cumulative. Only written medical excuses, funerals (you must bring proof that you attended the funeral), and written proof that you are participating in official school functions are acceptable reasons to miss an exam. Otherwise, if you miss an exam you cannot make it up. You cannot miss an exam in order to go home early for Spring or Fall break. You cannot make up any quizzes or exams unless given permission, from me, before the due date of the quiz or the day of the exam. You are required to be in class the days before our Fall and/or Spring breaks (this includes Thanksgiving). Again, I will not accept your desire to leave before the official start of a holiday break as an excuse to miss an exam, quiz or class. Furthermore, you must take each exam, including the final, only at the hour and day they are scheduled. I do not make any exceptions to this policy so do not even bother to ask.

Assigned Readings

Quizzes

There are a number of take-home quizzes. These are based on the articles either on reserve in the library or posted on the World Wide Web. Due dates for the quizzes are given, in class, at least one class period before you must turn them in. You cannot make up these quizzes unless given permission to do so from me before its due date. You cannot make-up quizzes unless you have official documentation stating why you could not attend class for every day since I announced when the quiz was due. Turn your quiz in a day early if you know that you will miss a class when it is due. Quizzes must be no longer than two typed pages. I will not accept handwritten quizzes. I will return any handwritten quiz that is turned in with a 0 for a grade. All quizzes must be hand-delivered to me at the beginning of the class period the day they are due. I do not drop the lowest quiz grade. I will not accept quizzes I find on my desk, in my mailbox, sent to me via e-mail, etc.

Quiz grades consist of a 0 (you did not turn it in or you turned in something but it did not have anything to do with the right answer to the quiz), a 65 (this means that you barely, if at all, correctly answered the quiz question and more than likely you, at best, just read the abstract to the article and completely ignored the associated newspaper clippings); a 75 (this means you just answered the question with little to no elaboration--more than likely you read the article and, if available, the associated newspaper clippings just once; an 85 (this means you answered the question with some degree of confidence and gave examples from the article and, if available, the associated newspaper clippings to back up your argument--more than likely you read the article and/or newspaper articles more than once); and a 95 (this means you fully answered the question correctly and provided examples from the article and/or newspaper articles to support your argument--this requires that you read all of the material at least twice). When applicable, you must read the newspaper articles and use them to illustrate your answer in order to get a 75 on the quizzes. If you do not, the highest grade you can get is a 75.

Your overall quiz grade average accounts for 24 percent of your final grade. Your quizzes are take-home assignments that you must complete by yourself. You will have cheated on this assignment if you work on the answer to your quizzes with another student. Remember these quizzes are meant to test you on how well you understand the assigned reading. They are not opinion papers. You must prove (e.g., using quotes, etc.) that you have read and understand every required article. The highest grade you will earn on a quiz is a 65 if you have not proven (e.g., using quotes, etc.) that you have read and understand every article that you are required to read. This web address contains an example of an A quiz from my Criminology course (www.runet.edu/~junnever/crim/aquiz.html).

Online Class Discussion

My teaching philosophy is that our learning is not limited to the physical confines of the classroom. I also believe that we can learn from one another by engaging in academic conversations. The use of digital technology now allows us to accomplish these aims. Throughout the semester, you are required to engage in online discussions with your peers by posting your thoughts on an electronic bulletin board. The bulletin board is located on the web page after you log in for the online components of your course. I will monitor the forums to assure that the use of the bulletin board is to further our understanding of sociology, class discussions and the assigned readings. Four percent of your grade is based on your quantitative and qualitative contributions to the online discussions. You will not earn any points unless you contribute to the class discussions. The number of points you earn will be based on how many of the postings you read and how many of the postings you made. It is relatively determined. The more you contribute to the online class discussions the more points you will earn (0-4). You can earn up to four points and potentially lose 4. Students who read all of the postings and contribute sociologically informed thought-provoking postings would earn the most number of points. You must make ninety-five percent of your postings before the last two weeks of class in order to earn a grade.

Ways to Improve the Quality of the Course

I have posted on the web a 24-hour completely anonymous suggestion box. It is located on the same page as your grades, reserve room, etc. Please use the suggestion box to offer constructive comments as to how I can enhance the quality of your learning experience. I will take them very seriously. This suggestion box is completely anonymous so feel free to be honest and direct with your comments. However, please note that I will completely ignore suggestions that are not constructive. I thank you for taking the time to make your suggestions. I also welcome you to visit me during my office hours.

Getting to Know One Another

You need to complete an entry into the course guestbook by the end of the third week of the semester. The following is the web address for the guestbook: http://www.runet.edu/~junnever/comments2.html.. To complete this assignment you must include your personality type and a short description of your personality type. The guestbook and personality test are on the web. Click on online technologies from either my home page or from your course home page and you will eventually find the link to the guestbook. I will deduct 100 points from your quiz average if you do not complete this assignment by the end of the third week of the semester. This includes a posting of your personality type. We will use our guestbook to get to know one another. Please include your full email address and if you do not have a homepage just put "No homepage" in that space.

Curving Grades

I curve grades in two ways. First, I curve each exam. The curve equals the number of points that the average exam grade falls below a 75. For example, if the average exam grade is a 72 everyone in the class will have 3 points added to their exam score (i.e., an 89 becomes a 92). Secondly, at the end of the semester, if no one has earned an A (a ninety or above) I will curve your grades so that the highest score in the class is a ninety-two. For example, if the highest cumulative grade is an 89 everyone in the class will have 3 points added on to their final cumulative score.

Bonus Points

You can also earn bonus points that I will add to your final cumulative score. You will earn 2 bonus points if your quiz average is above an 85.0. You will earn 1 bonus point if your quiz average is above a 75.0. The grade sheet I post on the web will keep a running total of the number of bonus points you have accumulated throughout the semester. Check your grades after we have each quiz to keep track of your quiz average and the number of bonus points that you have accumulated. Your quiz average does not include your extra credit.

Extra Credit

Videos and Events

Throughout the semester, there will be opportunities to do extra credit. Posted on the web is a list of videos that you can watch at any time to receive extra credit (http://www.runet.edu/~junnever/crim/extra_credit.html). To earn your extra credit points you must turn in a one page, typed, summary and "emotional reaction paper." You must include the receipt of when you checked the video out of the library or from the video store. If you view the video in the library, have the media service receptionist sign a slip of paper that states which video you watched and the time and date of when you watched it. You will not get credit for your work unless you include this information on your extra credit. Start your extra credit with a paragraph summary of your assignment. Also, include your "emotional reaction" to the video or extra credit opportunity. This consists of your reaction to the extra credit assignment. This means that you type out your emotional reaction to what you saw--were you angry, sad, happy, etc.

Extra Credit and Your Grades

I add your extra credit points to your quiz grade scores. For example, if you have done three extra credit assignments, each for ten points, I will add 30 points to your overall quiz score total. If you have a quiz score total of 960 points (12x80), your overall quiz score will be 990 960+30=990. You can accumulate up to 100 extra credit points. Your extra credit must be handed in the first class period of the second to last week of classes. Most of your extra credit assignments are in the library. See the media services desk. Please note that I have caught numerous students cheating on their extra credit. Be assured that I will catch you if you cheat. All extra credit assignments must be done individually.

In sum,

3 exams x 24 percent = 72 percent
the average of your quizzes = 24 percent
online class discussion = 4 percent
100 percent of your final grade.
Plus your bonus points, extra credit, and possible end of the semester curve

Format of the class

I do not lecture from the textbook. This class is not for you if you want a professor who gives highly structured notes, bases the class lecture on a chapter from the textbook, outlines the lecture on the blackboard and elaborates upon it in class, and gives a test that directly relates to the textbook, outline, and class lecture. You will learn a lot and enjoy taking this course if you carefully listen to the class lectures and participate in the class discussions whether they take place in class or on the bulletin board. This class is not for you if you do not like being challenged to think and would rather not actively participate in the learning process. You are primarily responsible for what is in the textbook. Some of the required and assigned readings are not specifically gone over in class. I consider them to be in addition to the class lectures and discussions. You are required to understand the textbook on your own. Therefore, you must bring up specific questions on the required and assigned readings in class. This also means that to do well in the class you must regularly attend. Roughly, 60 percent of the material on your exams is from class lectures and the other 40 percent is from your required and assigned readings.

Required Readings/Tentative Requirements for the Tests (What is on the test?)

Emile Durkheim The Rules of Sociological Methods "Rules for distinguishing the normal from the pathological" Online in the reserve room

Erik Erikson the first chapter in The Wayward Puritans Online in the reserve room

E. Diamond "The Rule of Law Order versus Custom" Online in the reserve room

Roberto Unger "Laws and the Forms of Society"

Edward Greenberg "Law and the Constitution" Online in the reserve room

Isaac Balbus "Commodity Form and Legal Form: An essay on the "relative autonomy" of the law" and "Surplus Value" Online in the reserve room

John Helmer "Mexicans and Marijuana" Online in the reserve room

James P. Brady "The Transformation of Justice Cuba and China"

Catherine A. MacKinnon "Feminism, Marxism, Method, and the State: Toward Feminist Jurisprudence." Online in the reserve room

Gender and Law--Harvard online course

Tentative Course Outline

First Test, Durkheim, structure‑functionalism, crime is normal, mechanical and organic solidarity, repressive and restitutive law, The Logic of Sociological Analysis, Sanctions and Solidarity: The Contribution of Emile Durkheim, assigned readings, class lectures. Readings from the textbook, Introduction, Chapter 1, and pages 119-131 in Chapter 5.

Second Test, The rule of law versus the order of custom, Weber/Unger, the erosion of Feudalism and, natural law and the creation of legal formalism and capitalism, Legal Procedure and Social Structure: The Contribution of Max Weber, assigned readings, class lectures

Third Test, Finals Week, Marx, the forces of production, the social relations of production, and the superstructure, instrumental and structural theories of the state and law, legitimacy and symbolic politics, environmental law, racism, sexism in the law. Substance of Law and Mode of Production: Some Contributions of Karl Marx, assigned readings. Feminism and the law

Attendance Policy

Attendance is required. You must take the final exam during the hour and day it is scheduled. It is not cumulative. Occasionally, I will schedule an exam or quiz the class period before a scheduled break or holiday. You are required to attend class on these days.

I occasionally will assign new material by sending you an email. You are responsible for these assignments. This means that you need to check your email throughout the week and over breaks.

Classroom Behavior

By accepting admission to Radford University, each student makes a commitment to understand, support, and abide by the University Honor Code without compromise or exception. I will not tolerate violations of academic integrity. I will conduct this class in strict observance of the Honor Code. Refer to your Student Handbook for details. If you are found cheating, I will immediately dismiss you from the class and you will receive an F for your final grade (see your Student Handbook for Radford University's definitions of what constitutes cheating). You must complete all take home assignment on your own. You cannot share your answers to take home assignments. This includes tests, quizzes, extra credit, etc. The above means that you cannot discuss the answers to the tests--you can only discuss the material covered by the tests. In short, you must complete all take home assignments by yourself. If you have any questions concerning these restrictions, come see me before, not after, you engage in what Radford University defines as cheating. I have caught six people who cheated. I have taken students to the Judicial Board; do not become one of them! I reserve the right to dismiss any student from this class with a grade of an F who violates the Honor Code and/or systematically engages in conduct that disrupts my ability to teach this course effectively. I will only give one warning to the student before I dismiss him or her.

My function as a professor is to create a healthy classroom atmosphere that enhances your critical ability to think about contemporary issues such as racism, sexism, and classism. My intent is to make everyone aware of the effects that these social forces have on the group being discriminated for and against. I discuss these issues in terms of group membership not in relation to you as an individual. If these discussions offend you, they more than likely have been personalized. That is not my intent. Remember that when I use the word "you" I am using it in its plural form not its singular form. If I am referring to you as an individual, I will call on you by your specific name. If you feel uncomfortable with our class discussions, please make an appointment to see me.

Note that my function as a professor is to present a diversity of analyses and to challenge you to think. At times, I will attempt to provoke you into reconsidering your position on specific topics. I am a “thought provocateur.” Consequently, some of the theoretical analyses I present may challenge your value system. Please remain open-minded during these discussions. Remember that not everyone in the world shares the same opinions and analyses that we have as individuals. Also, remember that no one's opinions, including mine, are "right" or "wrong." It is OK to disagree. If you feel uncomfortable with our class discussions, please make an appointment to see me.

Note that I have the tendency, especially if I am “on a roll,” to interrupt students when they are responding to the class lecture. If this happens to you, please do not become offended and give up trying to make your point. Persist to get your point across. I will try to slow down enough so you can be heard.

I do not allow tape recorders unless you are handicapped and have a note from a proper campus department. If, for whatever reason, you need to leave a class early you must see me before the class begins. If I give you permission to leave before the class is over, then you must sit in the chair that is closest to the door. My general policy is that if you cannot attend the entire class; then do not come at all.

If you have questions concerning any of my policies, you must see me at the beginning of the course. If you do not see me at the beginning of the semester then I assume that you are clear about my policies and have agreed to abide by them. I will not respond to emails with egregious grammatical errors. Please send text-formatted emails—not html formatted emails.