Apr 28, 2024  
2020-2021 College of Liberal Arts (Admitted Fall 2020/Spring 2021) 
    
2020-2021 College of Liberal Arts (Admitted Fall 2020/Spring 2021) [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

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WGST 223 - Policing and the Rule of Law: Gender, Race, and Citizenship

4 credits
The relation between policing and the rule of law has been a source of much interest in democracies. How does one define the police and their role in ensuring security? In the course, we will first discuss conceptions of the state, the rule of law and their critiques. Next, we discuss policing as a site of state power- including the history of policing, global trends from Argentina, India, and Egypt, and the role policing plays in societies. U.S. debates on policing emerging out of Ferguson, MO and Charlotte, North Carolina will also be analyzed in this context. Finally, we relate state and policing to the use of science. From the high number of crime shows such as CSILaw and Order and Dexter impacting jury trials and the increasing use of DNA evidence, neuromapping technologies and even truth serums (in some contexts) have made police and the legal system extremely dependent on the ability of scientific evidence to get to the truth. Drawing from Political Theory, films, TV shows and stories, we will trace the way in which law and policing interacts with science. Whether we discuss state, rule of law, policing, or science, the experience of any of these institutions is mediated centrally by particular identities such as race, gender, and class, which will be discussed throughout the course. Same as PSCI 223 .  CLA - Diversity US



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