Course Description
Selected major issues related to law and/or judicial processes.
Athena Title
SP TOPICS JUD PROCE
Prerequisite
POLS 1101 and permission of Honors
Semester Course Offered
Not offered on a regular basis.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
This course approaches voting rights from dual perspectives. One perspective is the litigation relating to the development of voting rights. The second perspective is the research done by political scientists into the politics of extending voting rights and the consequences of those reforms. Students will learn how the interplay of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches have shaped voting rights. Students will be evaluated on the basis of examinations, research papers, and classroom discussions. Because this is an Honors course, it will be rigorous and cover any topic related to law and the judicial process that is not currently covered by courses in political science and criminal justice.
Topical Outline
Reapportionment/One-Person/One-Vote Passage of the Voting Rights Act Constitutionality of the Act Preclearance Resistance to the Voting Rights Act Extensions of the VRA/Constitutional Issues of Minority Vote Dilution 1982 Amendment to the Voting Rights Act and the 2006 Extension Judicial Interpretations of the 1982 Amendments Racial and Partisan Gerrymandering Voting Rights Act--Pro/Con: An Assessment Impact of Majority-Minority Districts on Black Representation Descriptive and Substantive Racial Redistricting and Minority Representation: Revisited -- Racial Progress The Modern Court