Andrew Austin Office Phone: 465-2359 Social Change and Development Messages: 465-2355 University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Office Hours: MTW 11:00-12:00 Office: MAC Hall 326A Email: [email protected] Web page: http://www.uwgb.edu/austina Course email: C9877-fa2010 SOC C D 470—Fall 2010 SENIOR SEMINAR The senior seminar this semester synthesizes and applies critical sociolegal and broader sociological and historical approaches to the study of law and its relationship to inequality in the United States. The focus is on disparities across class, race, and gender in history. Augmented by occasional lectures by the professor, the seminar context requires students to take primarily responsibility for conducting the class. The goal of the course is to describe and theorize inequalities in the United States and explore the role of law in creating, sustaining, and rectifying the various inequalities that have marked United States history. Measuring achievement of this goal is determined by two objectives: (1) demonstrate competence in subject matter, critical thinking, and writing skills by producing an original paper on an area of inequality; (2) student presentations and discussions of readings. READINGS All items are in the bookstore or online. • Bakan, Joel, The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Power • Kelly, Marjorie, Divine Right of Capital • Massey, Douglas, American Apartheid • Oliver, Melvin and Thomas Shapiro, Black Wealth/White Wealth • Sexton, Patricia, War on Labor and the Left. • On-line materials (see schedule). COURSE COMPONENTS Essay on Inequality and the Law (50 points) An essay on a subject pertaining to a form of inequality and attendant areas of law is due no later on Thursday, December 9, 12:00 noon, no exceptions. Students work from a synthesis of at least eight scholarly articles and/or books. There is no upper limit and going beyond eight sources is strongly encouraged (and probably necessary). Although students may use assigned texts for their papers, they are not to use any readings assigned in this class as one of the required sources; the work is to utilize but go beyond the course materials to produce an original paper of high quality. Students submit to D2L and instructor email ([email protected]) by Thursday, September 16, 12:00 noon a brief 150-word proposal in either Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format (if you are unfamiliar with these formats call the Help Desk CIT at 465-2309). The proposal must, as must the final paper, conform to U.S. English rules of grammar and spelling. For papers conforming to social science norms, use the author-date system as found in the Chicago Manual of Style. For papers conforming to the style found in history journals, use the note and bibliography system found in the same Chicago Manual. If your paper conforms to a law journal publication, refer to the Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation. Successful submissions demonstrate knowledge, relevance, and importance of desired paper topic (consult the example on the course web page). Proposals are accepted, rejected, or returned with request for clarification or modification communicated through email. This is not a graded assignment; however, failure to submit a proposal with substantive content by the deadline results in a five-point reduction in your final point total. The completed paper shall be between 1750-2500 words (approximately 7-10 pages, 12-point Times New Roman). It must have an original title and a clear thesis. This is a science class at a secular institution, so arguments must conform to the rules of logic and enjoy empirical support, written in standard social scientific language. The word count does not include title page, abstract, or references pages. Academic scholarship means articles from peer-reviewed journals and monographs and edited collections published by university presses. College textbooks are generally disallowed (seek instructor approval). All sources must be relevant to the topic and must be used in the paper. Do not use the Internet for authoritative sources. This prohibition includes Wikipedia, other course web pages, online encyclopedia, and similar resources. This assignment is not a book review, review essay, or course synopsis; it is a synthesis of the literature on a body of law and inequality that the student selects and the teacher approves. As college-level work involves a great deal of writing, students should buy, if they have not already, a dictionary, thesaurus, and a handbook of grammar and punctuation. Additionally, you are to read and follow the online writing guide found on the course page. I take writing seriously and evaluate all aspects of written work. Except for quotations (used sparingly), the analysis must be in the students’ words. You must accurately cite all sources used in your paper. Plagiarism in any amount or degree results in a zero for the assignment and the student is not allowed to repeat the assignment. Ignorance is no excuse for plagiarism; plagiarism does not depend on what one intends, but on what one does. I am not here to judge your motives, but to uphold standards. Students who unknowingly plagiarize suffer the same fate as those who do it knowingly. For information on what constitutes plagiarism, please consult the URL: http://www.plagiarism.org/. Study the information contained therein, including associated URLs. Plagiarism, even when it results from sloppy scholarship, is considered a species of academic dishonesty. I provide ample instructions on how to write papers, so plagiarism and sloppy scholarship reflect a failure to attend to the instructions of this class. Papers purchased from essay mills, previously used in this or any other class, or written by others are reported to the Dean of Students. Upload the paper to the course D2L site in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format for credit. Students who submit papers in any other format receive zeros and are not allowed to resubmit their work. Submit another electronic copy in either format to [email protected]. Leaving enough time to complete both tasks, it is wise to forward the paper via email first before uploading to D2L, especially if you wait until late in the process; I do not accept technological failure as an excuse. Papers must be complete by the deadline. I post grades on D2L when I have finished grading all papers. I do not return essays, but make comments in D2L. Please allow several days for grading. I do not require a hard copy of your paper. However I do require that students provide photocopies of the first pages of the required sources, either the front page of the actual journal article with the title, abstract, and opening paragraph, or the title page of the actual book. If it is electronic full text, then submit the first page of the document. I do not accept results from databases as evidence that you have read the text you are citing. If you cite a work in your paper, you must have actually read that work. Bring the copies to class and give them to me at the end of the class period or leave them in the plastic pocket by my office door on the day the paper is due, stapled together with full name and class title on each page in legible handwriting. The photocopies may also be submitted as PDF files with the paper upload. 2 Attendance and Participation 50 I ordinarily do not take attendance in my classes, but given the seminar format, the class cannot function properly unless I do. One of my aims is to provide students with a graduate school experience, and the expectation in graduate school (as well as law school) is that, short a nuclear holocaust, students attend every class meeting. The university standard is that there are no unexcused absences, and that excused absences are few in number. I expect you to be present for every class meeting. Missing days on which you are expected to present material and lead discussion will result in a substantial point loss. I also assign points on the quality of participation, which is based your performance in presenting material and leading class discussion, and on book summaries (five points each). You must demonstrate a reasonable grasp of the material assigned to earn a decent participation grade. Grade Scale Total possible points: 100 90% A 70% C 87% A/B 60% D 80% B Below 60% is a failing grade for this course 77% B/C OFFICE LOCATION AND HOURS My office is located on the third floor of Mary Ann Cofrin (MAC) Hall, room 326A. I am willing to meet with students to clarify assignments, lectures and readings, study guides, and missed exam questions. You will find my office hours listed at the top of this syllabus. I am available by appointment, but because of my schedule, I ask that students try to meet with me during my office hours. I have been able to resolve most matters through email (see below). REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS AND RULES OF CONDUCT Reasonable Accommodations Statement As required by federal law and UW-Green Bay policy for Individuals with disabilities, students with a documented disability who need accommodations must contact the Disability Services Office at 465-2841 or 465-2849. I can make reasonable accommodations unless they alter the essential components of the class. Contact the instructor and Disability Services Coordinator in a timely manner to formulate alternative arrangements. Academic Integrity A diploma from an institution of higher learning signals to others that the holder of the degree has obtained the privilege through hard work and honest effort. By honest effort it is understood that examinations are performed without the unauthorized assistance of others or the use of material disallowed by the teacher; that essays, term papers, and research projects are unique compositions by the student wherein great care has been taken to properly attribute all derived thought to its original authors; that any requests for special assistance or consideration in completing course work rest on legitimate grounds and are based on truthful claims (UWS 14.03[2]).