Decriminalization or Legalization
CJ 301
Law & Society
Spring Semester 2013, 3 credits
Mondays, 4 – 6:40 pm
Instructor/Course Information:
Instructor: Alan Mobley, Ph.D.
Office Location: 160A Professional Studies and Fine Arts Building (PSFA)
Office Hours: Wed, 3 – 4pm, or by appointment
E-mail Address: amobley@mail.sdsu.edu
Course Description:
The course will familiarize you with tools and concepts related to a course of study that often goes by different names, including socio-legal studies, sociology of law, and legal anthropology or the anthropology of law. Our mandate will be to explore the place of law in society. This emphasis asks “where” law shows up in society, “how” law influences the social world, and “why” such things are the work of law. This approach also asks the fundamental question, “what is law, anyway?” In short, we will examine law and culture, particularly American culture, but with looks at law in other cultures as well.
Required Books:
The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander
Law & Society, Kitty Calavita
Other readings, as required, will be posted on Blackboard under Course Documents.
Course Objectives
You will learn ways to study the workings of law in society. This will include some study of law itself, work on socio-legal theory, and research methods common to anthropological fieldwork. By the end of the semester you should see yourself as developing skills in socio-legal analysis.
Classroom Conduct: You may use laptop computers to take notes during class. Other online activities are disruptive and are not allowed. All music players, phones, pagers and other devices should be turned off during class. If you have a job that requires you to keep your pager on at all times, let me know at the beginning of the semester and keep the pager on vibrate.
Class discussion and critical thinking about social issues are encouraged, but we all should be respectful of the views of others. When we talk about social control and
Law & Society
Spring Semester 2013, 3 credits
Mondays, 4 – 6:40 pm
Instructor/Course Information:
Instructor: Alan Mobley, Ph.D.
Office Location: 160A Professional Studies and Fine Arts Building (PSFA)
Office Hours: Wed, 3 – 4pm, or by appointment
E-mail Address: amobley@mail.sdsu.edu
Course Description:
The course will familiarize you with tools and concepts related to a course of study that often goes by different names, including socio-legal studies, sociology of law, and legal anthropology or the anthropology of law. Our mandate will be to explore the place of law in society. This emphasis asks “where” law shows up in society, “how” law influences the social world, and “why” such things are the work of law. This approach also asks the fundamental question, “what is law, anyway?” In short, we will examine law and culture, particularly American culture, but with looks at law in other cultures as well.
Required Books:
The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander
Law & Society, Kitty Calavita
Other readings, as required, will be posted on Blackboard under Course Documents.
Course Objectives
You will learn ways to study the workings of law in society. This will include some study of law itself, work on socio-legal theory, and research methods common to anthropological fieldwork. By the end of the semester you should see yourself as developing skills in socio-legal analysis.
Classroom Conduct: You may use laptop computers to take notes during class. Other online activities are disruptive and are not allowed. All music players, phones, pagers and other devices should be turned off during class. If you have a job that requires you to keep your pager on at all times, let me know at the beginning of the semester and keep the pager on vibrate.
Class discussion and critical thinking about social issues are encouraged, but we all should be respectful of the views of others. When we talk about social control and