Legal Studies 497F – Social Justice Denied: The Disconnection of Socio- Economic Status and Civil Rights in U.S. Law.
University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Department of Legal Studies
Spring, 2006

Course Instructor, Jerrold S. Levinsky
112A Gordon Hall
jlevinsky@legal.umass.edu

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Course Description and Objectives

This course explores the interrelationship of socio-economic status in the United States and the failure of civil rights law and policy to effectively address the panoply of issues impacted. The course has three major objectives: Introducing students to contemporary problems of working life in the United States; Exploration of the statistical and other forms of evidence establishing the prevalence and harmfulness of socioeconomic disparities as well as their relationship to “traditional” protected classes, such as race, ethnicity and gender; Explore literature which propounds theoretical observations and analytic tools for dealing with these problems and for understanding the failure of civil rights policy to do so. Finally, we will explore the way(s) in which “law” broadly construed, has played an important, if not, fundamental role in the shaping of workplace arrangements. How, that is, has the socio-political role of legal rules and their enforcement, participated in the creation of the “American workplace” in its different forms?

The course has five major objectives:

(1) Develop basic understanding of the relationships of power implicated in the development of workplace policy/policies.
(2) Develop basic background in historical development of unions and the labor movement
(3) Understand broad role(s) of class inequality and its relationship to the "politics" of the workplace
(4) Develop basic background in the legal development of workplace policy in the United States
(5) Begin to critically analyze and evaluate the interrelationship between (1)-(4).

Required Reading

The following texts are required reading for the course, and are available at the Amherst Bookshop in Amherst, as well as other (new and used) bookstores throughout the valley:

· Korstad, Civil Rights Unionism, University of North Carolina Press, 2003
· Braverman, Labor and Monopoly Capital: The Degradation of Work in the -Twentieth Century, Monthly Review Press (25 th anniversary edition)
· Keller (editor) Class Matters, Times Books, 2005
· Gross, Broken Promise: The Subversion of American Labor Relations Policy, Temple University Press (1996)

Stern, Buffalo Creek Disaster, Vintage (1977)

FILMS AND VIDEOS: A number of films/videos selected from the following list will also be shown during the course of the semester. One or two of the longer feature-length films will be scheduled for optional viewing outside of class time (probably on Saturday mornings).

Requirements and Grading

(1) ATTENDANCE/PARTICIPATION (20%): This will be a discussion-oriented course. I will lecture but will expect you to work through the readings fully and thoughtfully before class. Because of this, the importance of consistent involvement with the class time we spend together is paramount. I will take attendance at every class.

(2) Two papers: (30% or 15% each). You will be required to write a book review of two of the books we will read during the semester. In addition, you may be required to write 2-3 reflection papers which will not be graded.

(3) MID-TERM EXAM (20%): A required take-home consisting of essay questions worth 30% of the final grade will be distributed before the beginning of Spring break.

(4) FINAL EXAM (30%): A required take-home final consisting of essay questions worth 30% of the final grade will be distributed before the end of classes and due on the final day of the exam period.

The following materials will be available on the course WEB CT site; syllabi, schedules, and announcements). In addition, the class will include the following tools required as part of this class; discussion board, live chat, and online assessments.