Course
Description
Graduate
Catalog Description: The development and implementation
of criminal law. Consideration of functionalist, conflict,
and interpretive theories and research.
Dr. Mentor's
Description: Examination of the legal system, the lawmaking
process, and the interaction of various participants
in the justice system. Special attention will be
paid to the law's role in challenging and legitimating
authority. In addition to the above, the focus will be
on theories that seek to broaden our understanding of
law and justice.
Readings
All
readings are found online at http://salsa.nmsu.edu.
Click on "C.J. Online Resources" to enter
this WebCT class and select the "Law and Social
Control - Dr. Mentor" option. Readings are arranged
by module, in the order they should be read.
Assignments
Journals
in this class will be posted online and students are
expected to review the journals of other students. Students
should plan to complete a "blog" at the end
of each module (5 total). At the end of the course,
completed journals should document your thoughts about "Law
and Social Control." The best
journals demonstrate an evolution of thought as we move
through
readings and
other course experiences. Journals should refer to readings
(in text and elsewhere), internet content, events in
the news, and other relevant issues.
Blogs
are expected to follow a specific format. The
total amount of writing should be 4 to 6 pages for each
blog. After you complete the assigned readings, sit back
and think about what it all meant. Remember to consider
ideas raised in class discussion and the web sites included
in each module. Once you have an idea of what you want
to say, start typing your entry, much of it off the top
of your head. Whatever comes to mind. It is probably
best to do this in Word or another word processor and
cut-and-paste into your blog. While I expect a certain
amount of organization, the journals are not expected
to be "term paper quality."
Module
related blogs should contain three separate parts:
 |
First,
provide specific comments on readings. Label this
section "Reading Content." Provide enough
information to demonstrate that you did the required
readings, but you should not write more than 2 pages
for this section. |
|
The
second section should discuss relevant web content.
You will be expected to visit a variety of internet
sites. These sites may be contained within the module
outline or you can locate them through various web
search techniques. This section should be between
1 and 2 pages. This is the "Internet Content" section. |
|
The
third section should include a 1 to 2 page summary
in which you integrate the readings, class discussion,
web sites, current events, other classes, and any
other experiences. This should be labeled the "So
What?" section. |
My
grading criteria is fairly simple. While reading the
module related blogs I ask three questions:
1.
Did you do the reading?
2.
Did you think about the issues raised in the reading
and internet content?
3.
Did you integrate various issues. In other words, are
you applying the concepts to a range of contexts?
Although
you have several options, you may be using an advertiser
supported service for these journals. These free services
provide the features we need for the class, although
we have to put up with advertisements. We are using something
called "web logs" or "blogs" for
our journals. Click the "Journals" link
above for instructions. The "Journals" page
will eventually include links to the online journal of
each student in the class.
Five
essay exams will be completed during the class. Exam
questions will be sent to each student at the beginning
of the week in which the essay is due. Essays should
have sufficient breadth and depth to indicate more than
a passing awareness of the issues raised in the questions.
Grading will be determined based on the thoroughness
of response and the ability to properly apply knowledge
gained through reading the text. Essays should be "term
paper quality." Pay attention to spelling, sentence
and paragraph structure, organization, and citations.
Your papers should use APA
style, which is described in the Publication Manual
of the American Psychological Association (5th edition,
2001).
Questions
typically contain multiple parts. This is not done to
make questions more difficult. Multiple parts are recommended
to provide guidance that will lead to a high quality
answer. Remember to address each section but do not assume
that the ideas raised in each section are the only issues
to be addressed in your response.
This
is a group project. Each student will receive the same
grade unless there is evidence, shared by all members
of the group, about differing levels of participation
from one or more group members. Each group will be assigned
a topic (from a list determined by the
class)
for the final
project.
The final
project should include a one or two page introduction
or summary followed by an annotated list of internet
links that will lead to further information on the topic.
The list of links should be carefully edited to include
high quality pages that are educational, well organized,
and expected to remain on the internet for an extended
period. Click
here for an example of a final project. Click
here for
a guide that should be followed while formatting the
assignment for submission.
Your
projects will be published, with full acknowledgement
of your efforts, at justicepolicy.com. This site, which
is currently under development, will include links to
justice related issues. With you permission, your sites
will be included in a section devoted to law and society.
When completing this assignment you are expected to comply
with essay exam expectations regarding scope,
depth, plagiarism, cites, writing quality, and organization.
Final
web sites are due on or before the end of the day
November 29. Late submissions will not be accepted. I
am happy to review outlines, rough drafts, or any
other preliminary work. More information about this
assignment will be provided in the "Web
Pages" section of this course outline.
The
online forum allows us the opportunity to discuss
a range of issues. The forum is an online "bulletin
board." Each
of you may post questions, reactions to course content,
comments about materials
available on the Internet, responses to other questions
or comments, or whatever you feel like sharing with others.
The forum is especially helpful for those
who want to share information found on the internet.
Links to sites can be easily included in the forum.
This
class includes a forum and blogs. Each student is expected
to review the blogs of other students. The forum is the
best place to engage in discussion about points raised
in blogs. It may be helpful to think of communication
tools as a continuum. For
example:
----Face
to face----online chat----online forum----blog----journal
article----textbook----
The best example of synchronous communication
is a face-to-face conversation. No time gaps are present.
Chat rooms are similar, but without non-verbal cues.
Online forums or bulletin boards allow quick two-way
communication,
but also provide an opportunity to reflect on things
before offering a response. The forum also
serves as a gathering spot with a collection of
comments.
Forum comments are offered with the
expectation of some sort of response. In contrast, blogs
typically represent
something that is shared with others, but there is not
necessarily an expectation of response. The blog doesn't
include any sort of group organization structure
so it is difficult to share comments. Journal
articles
are timely, relative to textbooks, but allow very little
interact. Textbooks are the product of a long period
of time and involve very little interaction.
I encourage you to
think of this continuum since I know there can be confusion
about the role of
the forum and blogs. We will use the forum to comment
on blogs, and anything else we wish to discuss. Grading
will be based on frequency, relevance, and evidence
that students are reflecting and commenting on the
blogs of other students.
In addition to class
discussion, the forum is the area in which I will send
communications intended to be read by the entire class.
Plan to visit the forum often. Participation:
(up to 10 points may be deducted)
Your
experience, and the learning experience of your classmates
and instructor, are greatly enhanced as the result of
active participation. You are likely to have strong opinions
about a number of the topics we will discuss. Let us
hear what you think by posting comments in the bulletin
board/discussion area. This course will be better if
you talk more and I talk less. I prefer not to dominate
the online discussion so each of you will need to remain
active throughout the semester. You all have interesting
ideas and viewpoints and we learn more by sharing and
trying to understand various views.
Discussion
occurs in two places. This class is using online journals,
also known as "web logs" or "blogs." Students
post thoughts in their journals,
which are available for all students to read. You are
encouraged to read all journals and include references
to these journals as you write your own submissions.
This class also includes an online
message board. The message board is not intended
to include lengthy discussions. However, short comments
indicate your level of participation in class.
In
addition to discussions, participation is evident in
efforts to keep up with course work and submit assignments
on schedule. In short, don't "disappear" for
extended periods. This is not a traditional course with
opportunities for classroom discussion. This is not an
independent study course either. You are expected to
remain involved in the class throughout the semester.
If this course met in a traditional classroom we would
notice that some students are absent and do not work,
through their active participation, to improve the learning
environment for all class participants. Other students
would attend class on a regular basis, but sit there
like "a bump on a log." An online course is
different. Our discussions are "asynchronous." In
other words, your comments to the class may not be read
for several hours after the comment is made. Those who
read your comments have the opportunity to think about
what was said. Although the time difference changes the
nature of a discussion, discussion still takes place.
The participants were present even though they were together
at a certain time and place.
Notice
that the score for this item is a negative. As graduate
students, a certain level of participation is assumed.
That level of participation is expected and not included
in the grade. Those that fail to reach that level will
lose points.
Course
Policies
Deadlines
Deadlines
are not suggestions. All written material will rapidly
lose points in the days following the due date. Zero
points will be awarded for missed assignments.
Withdrawing
from class
Class
withdrawal is your responsibility. If you disappear,
we will wonder where you are. However, we will not drop
you from the class. Withdrawals should follow University
procedure. The student is responsible for obtaining all
necessary signatures on drop slips.
ADA
If
you have or believe you have a disability, you may wish
to self-identify. You can do so by providing documentation
to the Office for Services for Students with Disabilities,
located at Garcia Annex (646-6840). Appropriate
accommodations may then be provided for you.
If
you have a condition which may affect your ability to
exit safely from the premises in an emergency or which
may cause an emergency during class, you are encouraged
to discuss this in confidence with the instructor and/or
the director of Disabled Student Programs. If you
have general questions about the Americans With Disabilities
ACT (ADA), call 646-3333.
Academic
Misconduct
A
very high price can be paid when you are caught cheating.
Too high to risk. All written material must be your
own composition. Appropriate credit must be given for
sources used in developing your ideas and arguments.
Provide appropriate citations. It is easy to see when
large sections of text have been lifted from other Web
pages. This is quite easy to verify as well.
It
is not appropriate to submit work that was originally
completed for another course.
Please
refer to the Student Code of Conduct in the NMSU Student
Catalog. Students should pay particular attention to
the following section on academic misconduct taken from
page 19 of the 1999-2000 Undergraduate Catalog. "Any
student found guilty of academic misconduct shall be
subject to disciplinary action. Academic misconduct includes,
but is not limited to, the following actions:
1.
cheating or knowingly assisting another student in committing
an act of cheating or other forms of academic dishonesty;
2.
plagiarism, which includes, but is not necessarily limited
to, submitting examinations, themes, reports, drawing,
laboratory notes, undocumented quotation, computer processed
materials, or other materials as one’s own work when
such work has been prepared by another person or copied
from another person;
3.
unauthorized possession of examinations, reserve library
materials or laboratory materials;
4.
unauthorized changing of grades on an examination, in
an instructor’s grade book, or on a grade report; or
unauthorized access to computer records;
5.
nondisclosure or misrepresentation in filling out applications
or other university records in, or for, academic departments
or colleges".
NOTE:
The penalties for engaging in any of these acts of academic
misconduct will be determined on a case-by-case basis,
but will follow general university guidelines as to severity.
Classroom
Climate
Classroom
climate is not solely the Professor's responsibility.
We encourage each of you to engage in conversation on
any issue. The University is a place for free speech,
limited through individual choice. These choices may
be altered with awareness of the real or potential reaction
of others. However, you should not be intimidated into
keeping quiet. We do not condone racist, sexist, homophobic,
or other hateful speech. You are all adults, capable
of understanding generally accepted rules of conduct
and modifying your behavior in an effort to comply with
these social or legal expectations. You are responsible
for your behavior.
Final
Grades
Dr.
Mentor does not post or discuss final grades after
the conclusion of the course. If grades
are made available online, be advised that if there
is any error the grade you receive from the registrar
is your official grade. Grade changes will be made
only in cases of data or computation error. Please
do not ask, beg, or otherwise attempt to change a
properly computed grade.
Course
Outline
This
course outline is intended to define much of what will
happen throughout this course. Changes are possible.
Any changes will be clearly presented to the class and
will often include class discussion. Changes will apply
to all students enrolled in this course, without regard
to whether they were involved in the discussion.
|
