Course Description
Focuses on the impact of inaccurate stereotypes within the criminal justice institution. Provides a historical overview of court cases that were popular in the media and engages students in reflective, service-learning projects that give back to the local community.
Athena Title
Media and Criminal Justice
Non-Traditional Format
Course includes a service-learning project during the semester that either employs skills or knowledge learned in the course or teaches new skills or knowledge related to course objectives. Student engagement in the service-learning component will be up to 25% of overall instruction time.
Prerequisite
SOCI 1101 or SOCI 1101H or SOCI 1101E or SOCI 3810 or SOCI 3810W or SOCI 3810E or permission of department
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
The goal of this course will be for students to understand how and why an intersectional framework is one of the best ways to both research and understand socially constructed stereotypes and images in our popular media. Students will also understand the role that popular culture plays in the outcomes and general knowledge surrounding infamous court cases throughout the United States’ history. Finally, students will engage in social-learning projects that allow them to use their gained knowledge from the first half of the course in a hands on approach, reflect on ways they can give can back to the local community’s needs related to the criminal justice system, and, ultimately, make connections between macro-level popular culture and micro-level experiences local people have when they enter any part of the criminal justice system. The last ¼ of the course will be the actual service-learning component of the course, where students will work with individuals impacted by the criminal justice system (such as writing letters to the prison population in Athens, working with/at domestic violence shelters to support victims of abuse, or other agencies that work with victims of abuse). The students will spend time learning about the agency they work with, volunteer with the agency, do a project (that will hopefully benefit the agency in some way), and reflect on their experiences in a way that connects the first lecture component of the course with the second service-learning portion of the course.
Topical Outline
Possible topics: 1. Introduction: Why is the impact of popular culture important in understanding society? 2. Lynn Weber’s Intersectional Framework: for both research and activism 3. Historical overview of infamous court cases: how both victims and perpetrators are portrayed 4. The role of race in the criminal justice system 5. The role of gender in the criminal justice system 6. The role of other stigmatized statuses in the criminal justice system 7. Understanding Local Community Needs 8. Working with Victims of Abuse 9. Reflecting on experiences students had in Service-Learning 10. End of Semester Wrap Up Event: With our local Service-Learning Partners 11. Student Presentations: Reflections and Suggestions for the Future 12. Conclusions: Intersectionality and the criminal justice system
Syllabus