João H. Costa Vargas

In this course, we will discuss historical and contemporary studies that provide arguments about the connections between race, poverty, and the criminal justice system.  More specifically, our readings and discussions will provide perspectives through which to understand not only how and why acts of police violence, questionable court proceedings, and unjust sentences routinely take place, but also why and how they are often sanctioned by society at large.  What historical and contemporary circumstances explain and are necessarily connected to the acquittal of the officers involved in the killing of Diallo?  What historical and contemporary circumstances explain the brutality and subsequent acquittal of the officers involved in the beating of Rodney King in 1991?  As we will see, not only can such examples be multipied ad nauseam, but also their connections become evident once we comprehend how society and its institutions (re)produce representations and practices that often take race, age, class, and gender as markers of expected behavior.

In this course, we will examine historical and contemporary studies that provide arguments about the connections between race, poverty, and the criminal justice system. More specifically, our readings and discussions will provide perspectives through which to understand not only how and why acts of police violence, questionable court proceedings, and unjust sentences routinely take place, but also why and how they are often sanctioned by society at large. What historical and contemporary circumstances explain and are necessarily connected to the acquittal of the officers involved in the killings of Diallo, Bell, Sanders, and so many others? What historical and contemporary circumstances explain the brutality and subsequent acquittal of the officers involved in the beating of Rodney King in 1991? Such examples suggest recurring patterns that point to ways in which society and its institutions (re)produce representations and practices that often take race, age, class, and gender as markers of expected behavior.

In this course, we will discuss historical and contemporary studies that provide arguments about the connections between race, poverty, and the criminal justice system. More specifically, our readings and discussions will provide perspectives through which to understand not only how and why acts of police violence, questionable court proceedings, and unjust sentences routinely take place, but also why and how they are often sanctioned by society at large. What historical and contemporary circumstances explain and are necessarily connected to the acquittal of the officers involved in the killing of Diallo? What historical and contemporary circumstances explain the brutality and subsequent acquittal of the officers involved in the beating of Rodney King in 1991? As we will see, not only can such examples be multiplied ad nauseam, but also their connections become evident once we comprehend how society and its institutions (re) produce representations and practices that often take race, age, class, and gender as markers of expected behavior.