Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Prof.: Dr. Julian Hermida
Course number: SOSA 3285
Teaching hours: Thursdays 18.05-20.55
Office hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 1 to 1.30 pm and Tuesdays 6.15 to 6.45 pm, or by appointment.
Office: Room 2131 (FASS Building)
Tel.:
494-6278
Email:
julian.hermida@dal.ca
This course is designed as a sociological examination of law both as a mechanism of social regulation and as a field of knowledge. It explores classical and contemporary theoretical contributions to Sociology of Law. Some specific issues to be analyzed include law and social control, law and social change, social reality of the law, the profession and practice of law, violence against women, and the influence of race, gender, and social status in the outcome of legal decisions.
· Knowledge is a constantly evolving process, which can be constructed personally and collectively.
· From an individual perspective, knowledge is personal, socially and historically contextualized, and dependent on psychological variables.
· From the class perspective, knowledge is a collective construction, where all participants can make their contribution.
· In the process of constructing knowledge, there is a dialectic relationship between action and reflection, where one feeds the other and vice versa.
· Successful learning is based on a personal involvement of students in their own learning.
· The learning environment, including the teaching methods, the teacher’s attitude, and the class atmosphere, among other factors, is determinative of the students’ approach to learning, as well as, the learning outcomes.
· The role of the teacher is that of a facilitator and tutor rather than a lecturer.
· Student peers are a powerful source of learning.
· Evaluation is conceived mainly as formative.
This course is
conceived so that students can:
1.
Understand
sociological examinations of law both as a mechanism of social regulation and
as a field of knowledge.
2.
Recognize and
understand the principal schools of thought in sociology and the law.
a.
Reconsider the
role of formal legal regulation in relation to civil society.
b.
Appreciate and
employ the formal language and discourse of socio-legal studies.
3.
Be aware of the
influence of race, ethnicity, gender, immigration status, and social class on
the outcome of justice institutions.
4.
Apply sociolegal
theories to a myriad of contemporary justice problems.
a.
Use knowledge on
sociolegal theories to analyze contemporary problems of Canadian society.
b.
Critically
reflect on media reports and cultural products concerning justice issues.
5.
Demonstrate an
understanding of how contemporary justice institutions operate.
a.
Relate principles
of justice, fairness, individual initiative, ethics, and legitimacy to our
system of law.
Deploy a range of advanced transferable skills, such as, oral and
written communication skills, the accurate exposition of complex arguments and
sets of research findings and the critical evaluation of competing explanations
or complex arguments relating to some culturally sensitive topics.
Classroom activities will be designed to encourage students to play an
active role in the construction of their own knowledge and in the design of
their own learning strategies.
We will combine traditional lectures with other active teaching
methodologies, such as group discussions, cooperative group solving problems,
analysis of video scenes, debates, and construction of web sites. Class
participation is a fundamental aspect of this course. Students will be
encouraged to actively take part in all group activities and to give an oral
group presentation. Students will also be assigned joint research projects so
that they will engage in collaborative learning experiences outside the
classroom. Students will be expected to interact with media resources, such as,
web sites, videos, DVDs, etc. In line with the postulates of Writing Across the
Curriculum, writing will be integrated in all class assignments.
Evaluation is conceived mainly as formative and feedback will be
provided all throughout the course. While strictly respecting University,
Faculty and Department standards and policies, reasonable efforts will be made
to include shared evaluation practices, i.e., a process where students have an
active role in their own evaluation.
The evaluation of the students’ achievement of the objectives of the
course will be based on four main components: two exams, an oral presentation,
and class participation/portfolio. The first exam accounts for 30% of the final
grade while the second one accounts for 20%. The oral presentation accounts for
30% of the final grade and class participation/portfolio accounts for 20%.
Successful attainment of objectives depends mainly on class attendance
and active class participation.
ORAL PRESENTATION: Formative
Unconventional Non-Powerpoint presentation
The oral presentation is an essential part of the course. Students will
select a topic from a list of options distributed on the first class. Students
will conduct the presentations in groups made up of 4 or 5 students each.
Students are expected to research about the topic and to read from
several sources for the presentation.
Students are strongly encouraged –but not obliged to- follow this format
and structure. First, there should be a brief (15’ or less) introduction to the
topic. Students will be encouraged to choose a focus and an angle through which
they can deal with the selected topic, i.e., they will be expected to select an
aspect of the problem, preferably a debatable, unresolved or topical one, and
analyze it through their own -rather than other's- perspective. Students are
strongly discouraged to use Powerpoint slides and to read from slides or notes.
Second, students should plan an activity (30’ or less) so that those not
presenting can actively participate. Activities should be original,
entertaining, and formative. They should principally let students apply the
topic presented to different situations. There should be a conclusion and time
for questions or comments (15’ or less). Additionally, students will have to
select an article –preferably one available electronically- a web site, create
notes or find another source of information for the rest of the students to
read about the topic. The selected source of information must treat the topic comprehensively.
The oral presentation requires extensive preparation throughout the
term. During the preparation of the presentation, students are welcome to meet
with the professor for consultation, suggestions and feedback on the evolution
of the presentation. Students will have to pass in an outline of the
presentation to the professor at least one week prior to the presentation. The
outline will be discussed and the professor will provide feedback and further
guidelines. Students are expected to hand in a revised version of the
presentation. During the presentation, the professor’s role will be limited to
listening passively. The rest of the class must actively participate in the
presentation as an active audience. The professor will provide feedback in
writing after the presentation is over.
Passing requirements and scale of
evaluation: a positive
response must be given to the following questions in order to approve the
presentation. The criteria are formulated in the form of questions which the
teacher will ask with respect to each presentation. All these criteria have the
same value.
1. Does the presentation deal with the assigned topic? Does the presentation show an understanding of topic dealt with? Does the presentation show a clear, coherent, and comprehensive treatment of the selected topic? Has the presentation followed the required formalities?
2. Does the presentation integrate knowledge acquired throughout the course? Is there an effective and original integration of knowledge acquired throughout the course?
3. Is there a critical and original personal assessment of the topic presented?
4. Does the presentation include an activity for the audience? Is the activity original, entertaining, and formative? Has the activity engaged the active participation of the audience or have the students engaged the audience throughout the presentation? Does the activity permit students to apply the concepts, theories or other issues dealt with in the presentation?
5. Have the students selected an adequate article, a web site or another source of information that comprehensively deals with the topic of the presentation for the other students?
EXAMS
The exams will be in the form of essays where students will have to
apply the knowledge gained in the course rather than to recite the material.
Students will discuss and propose good-faith questions for each of the exams
based on the topics dealt with in the course. If the questions have a general
consensus they will be part of a test bank. The exams will only contain questions
that have been included in the test bank.
Passing requirements and scale of
evaluation: The evaluation
criteria will be given to the students once the test bank has been completed. The
value of each evaluation criterion will also be given once the test bank for
each exam is completed. In general, the evaluation criteria will be similar to
the following one:
1. Did you answer the question comprehensively? Are all relevant problems discussed? Was the answer readable and well organized? Did you make connections between issues discussed in your answer? Did your answer show an understanding of the topic dealt with?
2. Did your answer discuss problems by reference to theoretical issues learned during the course? Did your answer show an understanding of the appropriate readings or class discussions? Did your answer show an understanding of the discussions and issues arisen in class? Did your answer make reference to class discussions, activities, and readings?
3. Is there a critical personal assessment of the topic discussed? Does the personal assessment show some originality?
CLASS PARTICIPATION-PORTFOLIO
Students are expected to actively participate in every class with a
positive attitude and to treat their classmates and instructor with respect.
Their participation must make a positive impact on the class activities.
Students are expected to be prepared for every class. Class attendance is a
prerequisite to obtain the corresponding percentage of the grade under the
class participation category.
Students are expected to create a portfolio to record all class
assignments. One of the class activities will include the writing of an essay.
Each portfolio will include, at least, the following materials: (i) a title
page and a table of contents; (ii) all class activities, including one minute
papers, small group activities and proposals for the test banks made in class;
and (iii) the essay. The deadline to hand in the portfolio is March 28, 2006 in
class.
Passing requirements and scale of
evaluation: a positive
response must be given to the following questions in order to obtain the
maximum grade within this evaluation component. The criteria are formulated in
the form of questions which the teacher will ask with respect to each student’s
participation and portfolio. All these criteria have the same value.
Grading system
A+: 95-100 B+: 80-84 C+: 65-69 D: 50-54
A: 90-94 B: 75-79 C: 60-64 F: 0-49
A-: 85-89 B-: 70-74 C-: 55-59
The curriculum is flexible and is open to suggestions from students. We can examine any sociolegal issue of interest to most students, even if it is not listed here. The following is a sample of issues which we will most probably be discussing. Note that we may not examine every single topic listed here.
q Introduction to the study of sociology of law
q Functions of law
q
Max Weber
q
Weber’s notion of
law
q
Forms of law and
legal thought.
q
Weber on the
Contract and the Juridic Subject
q Emile Durkheim
q Evolution of society and social solidarity
q Types of laws: repressive and restitutive (negative and positive)
q The abnormal forms. Contract
q
Property. Sacred
property
q
Marx and Law and
Capitalism
q
Modes of
production and the role of law
q Legal education
q The Courtroom workgroup
q Sociolegal theories
q Violence against women
q Pornography
q Intellectual property
q Influence of race, gender, and social status in the outcome of legal decisions.
CLASS SCHEDULE
This is a tentative calendar of readings and class activities. If class
discussions or class activities take longer than originally estimated because
everybody gets involved, they will not be cut short to follow this schedule of
readings. They will simply be put off for the following class or rescheduled.
Additionally, the teacher may substitute new topics for some of the ones
included in this schedule, particularly if most students show an interest for
some topics not planned to be covered. Changes to this schedule, including
changes of midterm dates, will be announced in class and posted on the course
website. Although reference is made to pages and chapters from the recommended
textbooks included in the course reader, students can read these topics from
any other Sociology of Law book.
|
Date |
Topic |
Readings |
|
January 5 and 12 |
|
|
|
January 19 |
|
|
|
January
26 |
|
|
|
February 2 |
·
Marx and
Durkheim |
·
The Sociology
of Law by Brian Burtch, pages 27 to 35 41 to 51. |
|
February
9 |
FIRST MIDTERM |
|
|
February 16 |
Students’ presentations |
Articles to be selected by students giving
the presentations. |
|
March 2 |
Students’ presentations |
Articles to be selected by students giving the presentations. |
|
March 9 |
Students’ presentations |
Articles to be selected by students giving the presentations. |
|
March 16 |
|
|
|
March 23 |
SECOND MIDTERMDEADLINE FOR THE PORTFOLIO |
|
|
March 30 |
Feedback |
|
·
Julian Hermida
and students, Compilation of texts and sources on Sociology of Law. The textbook
for the course will be the result of a collective enterprise between the
professor and the students, which will be completed over the course. As part of
the presentations, students will have to select an article, a chapter of a
book, a web site or another source of information for the rest of the students
to read about the presented topic.
·
The professor
will meet regularly with the students in his office for feedback, supervision
of projects, and exchange of ideas.
·
A web site for
the course is available at http://www.julianhermida.com Students will be able to consult the course
outline, test banks, class notes, and other useful information. All important announcements, such as exam
dates, presentation dates, reading assignments, and deadlines are given in
class and will not appear on the web site.
ETHICS
None of the activities imply interviewing or interacting with human beings outside the classroom. However, if students want to interview or interact with people for any of these activities they must contact the teacher well in advance to comply with ethics requirements.
OFFICE HOURS POLICY
In these large classes, it is sometimes difficult to get to know each and every one of my students. So, I would like to meet personally with as many of you as possible during the term. Please come see me during my office hours. I am available not only for class help but also for other academic-related issues, such as writing letters of reference or helping with prospective graduate studies. I want to be available to answer questions for all students. So in addition to regular office hours and seeing me by appointment, I will every so often end class early, and invite students who have questions to meet with me right then and there. Also note that if access to the second floor is barred after 5 PM, please call me from downstairs and I will go down and let you in.
PLAGIARISM
Dalhousie University now subscribes
to Turnitin.com, a computer based
service which checks for originality in submitted papers. Any paper submitted
by a student at Dalhousie University may be checked for originality to
confirm that the student has not plagiarized from other sources. Plagiarism is
considered a serious academic offence which may lead to loss of credit,
suspension or expulsion from the University, or even the revocation of a
degree. It is essential that there be correct attribution of authorities from
which facts and opinions have
been derived. At Dalhousie there are University Regulations which deal with
plagiarism and, prior to submitting any paper in a course, students should read
the Policy on Intellectual Honesty contained in the Calendar or on the
Dalhousie web site at: http://www.registrar.dal.ca/calendar/ug/UREG.htm
- 12.
The Senate has affirmed the right of
any instructor to require that student papers be submitted in both written and
computer readable format, and to submit any paper to a check such as that
performed by Turnitin.com. As a student in this class, you are to keep an
electronic copy of any paper you submit, and the course instructor may require
you to submit that electronic copy on demand. Copies of student papers checked
by this process will be retained by TurnitIn.com.
STUDENTS WITH
DISABILITIES
There are various university polices and
procedures regarding university student disability issues. Student
Accessibility Services handles the process of identifying students with
disabilities, the types of accommodations appropriate for each student, and
helps provide those accommodations. Students with disabilities should
register as quickly as possible at Student Accessibility Services if they want
to receive academic accommodations. To
do so, students may phone 494-2836, e-mail <disabilities@da.ca>, or drop
in at the Killam, G28. For
more information, consult the SAS website at http://www.dal.ca/~services/ssd.html#learnproc.