Fall 2021

Police Power

Listed in: Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought, as LJST-228

Faculty

Michaela J. Brangan (Section 01)

Description

Demands to reform, defund, or abolish the police have a long history, even as contemporary calls to curb law enforcement are hotly debated. Some worry that demands for radical changes to policing spell political doom. Others hope they toll the final bell for racism. And some think even minor cuts to police will trigger a Hobbesian “war of all against all.” What is the relationship between the police and what jurists name “police power”: the state's legal authority over public health and welfare? How did this relationship originate, and how has it changed? What does it look like outside of the US? What other social and economic factors intersect with law in debates over the redistribution and transformation of police power? Can the US continue without police as we know them? We will examine these questions using cases and statutory law, critical race and feminist scholarship, political theory, and literary and visual culture to guide our inquiry.

Limited to 36 students. Fall semester. Visiting Assistant Professor Brangan

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Class interaction (large/small groups): writing (formal/informal); research; presentation; study course materials Students with documented disabilities who will require accommodations in this course should be in consultation with Accessibility Services and reach out to the faculty member as soon as possible to ensure that accommodations can be made in a timely manner.
LJST 228 - L/D

Section 01
M 12:00 PM - 01:20 PM CHAP 201
W 12:00 PM - 01:20 PM CHAP 201

Offerings

2024-25: Not offered
Other years: Offered in Fall 2020, Fall 2021