Time Schedule:
Heyang Julie Kae
B CUSP 115
Bothell Campus
Addresses an important social issue through an interdisciplinary perspective, continues to build creative and critical skills, and focuses on the relationship between the individual and society. Offered: W.
Class description
This course will begin with an inquiry into the meanings of justice in the Western philosophical tradition and in U.S. based legal contexts. Not only will we ask what “justice” means, but how justice has been defined in legal and extra legal ways in the U.S. We will question and grapple with the ways justice has been sought after, denied, and arguably delivered in institutional contexts and consider the different forms that justice can take beyond these contexts. The second part of the course will focus on how ‘culture’ presents an important field of knowledge to explore the limitations and possibilities of representing “justice” in cultural productions including literature and film. We will read selections from Plato, Sojourner Truth, Richard Wright’s Native Son, Werner Herzog’s Into the Abyss, legal cases and supporting texts to consider how fiction, film and other cultural forms have been important mediums for representing, challenging, and inviting new interpretations of justice.
Student learning goals
Practice and strengthen critical reading practices for legal and literary texts.
Develop a more complex understanding of the intellectual history of justice in the U.S.
Critically respond to challenging texts in order to articulate complex claims that matter in academic discourse
Strengthen your academic writing through the application and integration of researched material
General method of instruction
lecture and group discussion
Recommended preparation
A willingness to challenge and revise one's thinking about the topics we will discuss in the course.
Class assignments and grading
Students will be assessed based on their classroom engagement, the timely completion of short writing assignments, group presentations and a final project.
