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Nature of course request C01880 :

New course

Undergraduate

First term offered : Winter 2012
Course Prefix&Number	Descriptive Title	Credits/Hours
COM 328	Law and Popular Culture	3 -

Abbreviation for Class Schedule(20 spaces) Law & Pop Culture

Catalog Description: Is there such a thing as the ¿CSI Effect?¿ Are minorities treated differently than Caucasians in the legal system, and how do we know if this is true? Are juries biased? Are lawyers sleazy? How do most people get their impressions of the legal system? Quite simply, most views of the legal system are shaped by what people see in popular culture (Asimow and Mader 2004).This course is designed to deepen students¿ understanding of the intersection between law and popular culture. Though readings, discussion, reflective writing, and a final research project, students will be able to understand and describe how movies about law shape society¿s understandings of law, society, and social history.

Course Goal and Objectives: After this course you will: 1. Understand the intersection between law and popular culture; understand and describe how movies about law shape society¿s understandings of law. 2. Be able to identify and analyze film techniques like sound, montage, dissolve, short takes, long takes and how these impact the film¿s message; 3. Use narrative criticism to analyze and explicate films; 4. Identify and evaluate key social issues in the films, including race, gender, social class, justice, and the expediency of the law.

Justification for adding the course (e.g. alignment with other institutions, program revision, etc.): This course augments existing coursework in legal communication. Student interest in this course has been high when it has been offered in the past.

Faculty and facilities needed: No new faculty or facilities needed--this course is already

Brief Course outline: Com 328: Law and Popular Culture Dr. Molly Mayhead Office: HSS 116; phone: 8-8536 Email: mayheam@wou.edu Hours: MWF 10-12 and by appointment Date Topic and Assignment 3/31 Course Intro: Law and Popular Culture 4/2 No class¿NWCA Conference 4/7 Law and Popular Culture Rhetorical and Film Analysis: Read Kuzina, Matthias. ¿The Social Issue Courtroom Drama as an Expression of Am. Popular Culture.¿ J of Law and Society 28 (March 2001) 79-96. Academic Search Premier . Bring a typed outline of the key points to discuss in class and turn in (20 points) via Moodle. 4/9 Narrative Criticism: Read Foss, on reserve in Hamersly ¿Film making and Reality¿ handout 4/14 Race, Reflection, and the Narrative: A Soldier¿s Story 4/16 Same as above; read Storhoff, Gary. ¿Reflections of Identity in `A Soldier¿s Story.¿¿ Literature Film Quarterly v. 19, pp. 21-27, 1991. EBSCO. 4/21 The Issues of Rape: The Accused 4/23 same as above; Read: Horeck, Tanya. ¿They Did Worse Than Nothing: Rape And Spectatorship in `The Accused.¿¿ Canadian Review of American Studies 30 (2000). Academic Search Premier. 4/28 Point of View and Juries: 12 Angry Men; Take home exam due 9:30 a.m. sharp 4/30 Same as above; Read: Vidmar, et al. ¿The 50th Anniversary of 12 Angry Men: Was He Guilty as Charged? An Alternative Narrative Based on the Circumstantial Evidence from 12 Angry Men.¿ Chicago-Kent Law Review, 2007. via Moodle. 5/5 The Lawyer as Hero: To Kill a Mockingbird; Prospectus Due 9:30 a.m. sharp! 5/7 Same as above; Read: Armstrong, Richard. ¿The World in a Fresh Light: To Kill a Mockingbird.¿ Australian Screen Education (Winter 2004), 84-87); CMMC. via Moodle. 5/12 Military Justice, from Fact to Film: Breaker Morant 5/14 same as above; Read: Bryant, Hallman B. ¿¿Breaker¿ Morant in Fact, Fiction, And Film.¿ Literature Film Quarterly, 1987, pp. 138-146. CMMC; via Moodle 5/19 Death Penalty: Dead Man Walking 5/21 same as above; Read O¿Sullivan, Sean. ¿Representing the `Killing State¿: The Death Penalty in Nineties Hollywood Cinema.¿ The Howard Journal 42, #5 (December 2004) 485-503. via Moodle 5/26 No class. Work on projects! 5/28 Presentations; Final Paper Due 9:30 a.m. Sharp 6/2 Presentations 6/4 Presentations Viewer Discretion Advised: The above listed films are required viewing for this class. Some have an ¿R¿ rating. No other films will be substituted. Text: Bergman and Asimow, Reel Justice: The Courtroom Goes to the Movies. Readings as assigned above Assignments: Point Values Prospectus of the final paper¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿.10 points Typed outline of article¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿..20 points Midterm exam¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿...70 points Final Paper¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿... 100 points Final exam¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿.100 points Class participation and attendance¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿. .50 points

Approval Queue C01880

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