JS 101. Introduction to Justice Studies.3 Credits.
Introduction to Justice Studies engages with the topic of justice in contemporary society (what it is, who gets to define it, who gets to administer it, and who gets more access to it). The course takes a holistic approach that engages the problem of injustice as a human problem through the exploration of contemporary events. As an introductory course, it is designed to raise critical questions, explore pressing problems, and to give a broad overview of careers dealing with contemporary justice issues, justice systems, and the administration of justice.
Prerequisites: None
Offered: As needed, Fall and Spring
UC: Social Sciences, Intercultural Understand
JS 201. Justice in the Community.3 Credits.
The course introduces students to the methods and perspectives of community organizing, collective advocacy, and community action planning. Students will be asked to consider notions of individual responsibility, collective voice, and the moral obligations of social institutions in a democratic society. Moreover, students will understand how advocacy around social, economic, and political rights serves as a tool of justice, while also discussing the limits of this advocacy work for particular communities and considering the systems responsible for administering justice. This gives them a window into practical applications of justice, how communities facilitate justice for themselves given the constraints they face, and the nature of the relationships and contexts that drive collective advocacy.
JS 301. Global Justices.3 Credits.
What is the extent of our global responsibility to others? How do cultures, communities and institutions shape those expectations? Many courses on global justice answer these questions primarily through the lens of contemporary Western notions of moral responsibility attributed to individuals or the state. These approaches disregard both the presumptions underlying prevailing conceptions of individual responsibility and the negotiated space that marginalized global and local communities have constructed for themselves in the face of international legal instruments. This course will utilize scholarship from the fields of law, history, sociology, and philosophy, along with contemporary literary works and visual media, to engage students in questions of social and global responsibility on three levels: (1) the nature of individual responsibility and the establishment of social obligations; (2) institutional responsibility and the incorporation of pluralistic voices in the creation of binding legal instruments and norms; and (3) a community's own responsibility and ability to create space for social change at the local level.
JS 401. Justice & Comm. Engagement Internship.3 Credits.
This internship class provides students with the opportunity to engage with a local or global community organization advocating for social change on any issue impacting a vulnerable community. Moreover, as a final work product, students will be asked to work collaboratively with that organization to draft a community action plan addressing the needs of the community, the resources available within the community, and any potential hurdles that need to be overcome for implementation of the action plan. Students will work with various local stakeholders to create a catalyst project and a long-term strategic agenda.
Prerequisites: Take JS 301.
Offered: Every year