COURSE
SYLLABUS: HISTORY/POLITICAL SCIENCE 342,
CIVIL
RIGHTS AND THE CONSTITUTION
FALL
2002
Instructor's Name: Dr. Andrew J. Dowdle
Class Location: JKSA 205 Class Time: MWF 1-1:50
Office Location: TS 207B
E-Mail: adowdle@uncfsu.edu
Office Hours: TR 9:30-11 am, MWF noon -
1pm, MR 5-6 pm
OR BY APPOINTMENT
Office Phone: 672-1347
Class Website:
http://faculty.uncfsu.edu/adowdle/poli342.htm
II. COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Civil
Rights and the Constitution is a study of constitutional principles and their
applications as they affect individual civil rights. Heavy emphasis will be
placed on the dilemma between the need to insure individual rights and the
obligations of individual citizens to society. While empirical evidence is
important, students should not only learn the "facts" of the cases.
They also need to develop the basic skills (empirical and normative,
quantitative and qualitative) of political inquiry and analysis. Students
should learn to appreciate the complexity and contextual boundedness of
political issues and how to engage with seriousness and civility in dialogues
and debates. This class should prepare students not only for their role as
political consumers but also as politically active citizens and leaders.
III. COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Students
should be able to
1.
differentiate between a civil right and a civil liberty.
2.
evaluate and compare historical and current attitudes with impartiality and
objectivity.
3.
objectively appraise the notion of government commitment to "Equal
Protection Under
the Law."
4.
analyze whether or not the ideological composition of the U.S. Supreme Court
has a significant effect on rulings in civil rights and liberties cases.
5.
trace the evolution of the "Civil Rights Movement" in this country.
6.
become familiar with the doctrine of selective incorporation.
7.
understand the differences between strict scrutiny, heightened scrutiny, and
the rational basis test in cases dealing with discrimination.
8.
identify the "facts" of a case (from the assigned readings), the court's ruling in that case, and the
effect of the ruling on other cases.
This course is taught primarily through
lecture.
Fayetteville State
University expects all students to conduct themselves in a responsible manner
as adults who understand that they are accountable for the choices they make as
students. Students are expected to
attend all class meetings scheduled for the courses in which they are registered. Instructors are expected to maintain an
accurate written record of student attendance in order to meet veterans’
benefits and other requirements. At the
end of each quarter, instructors will record absences for all students all
students on the official grade sheets.
Absence from class for whatever reason does not does not excuse students
from full responsibility for class work or assignment missed. Students will be allowed to make up work
only if the instructor excuses the absence.
Illness needs to be documented by a note from the infirmary or family
doctor. Funerals require a copy of the
obituary or funeral program. School
activities need to be pre-approved by the class instructor.
The final grade for this class will be based on four
components. Students will have three in-class tests, including the final
examination. Students will not be allowed to make up tests without a doctor’s
note in cases of illness or some written documentation (i.e. funeral program)
in cases of family tragedy. Class participation is also an important aspect in
the instructor's evaluation. Over the course of the semester, students will be
expected to have “briefed” four cases.
These assignments will require both a written summary of a case and an
oral presentation of the case before the class. Therefore, participants will be expected to have read and briefed
the cases before coming to class. Since students will know the cases to be
briefed before hand, coming to class without reading the assignment will have a
severe impact on the student's class participation grade. Students who miss
class will receive a zero for that week unless they turn in a written summary
of the cases missed.
COMPOSITION OF FINAL GRADE
Test
One 20%
Test
Two 30%
Final
30%
Participation
and Briefings 20/%
GRADING SCALE
92-100 A
83-91 B
73-82 C
64-72 D
Below
63 F
VI. TEXT:
Epstein,
Lee and Thomas G. Walker. Constitutional
Law for a Changing America: Rights, Liberties, and Justice. 4th edition.
Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, 2001.
VII. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
BIBLIOGRAPHY: ARRANGED BY TOPIC
Abraham, H., Freedom &
the Court (6th ed. 1993 ).
Biskupic, J. & Witt, E.,
The Supreme Court and Individual Rights, 3d ed. (1997).
Currie, D. The Constitution
in the Supreme Court (2 vol., 1985, 1990).
Currie, D. The Constitution
in Congress (vol 1. 1997)
Gunther, G. Constitutional
Law; Individual Rights in Constitutional Law.
Kelly, A., Harbison, W.,
& Belz, H., The American Constitution (7th ed. (1991).
Murphy, W., Fleming, J.,
Barber, S. American Constitutional Interpretation (2d ed. 1995).
O'Brien, D. Constitutional
Law & Politics (1995) with yearly supplements.
Pritchett, C.,
Constitutional Law of the Federal System; Constitution & Civil Liberties (1983).
B. Collections Of Case
Studies About The Court And Its Justices.
Cannon, M. & O'Brien,
D., ed. Views from the Bench (1985).
Garraty, J., ed., Quarrels
that Have Shaped the Constitution 2d ed. (1987).
Irons, P., Courage of their
Convictions (1988)
Steamer, R., Chief Justice
(1986).
White, G., The American.
Judicial Tradition (2d ed., 1988).
C. General Histories Of The
Court And American Constitutionalism.
Farber, D. & Sherry, S.
A History of the American Constitution (1990).
McCloskey, R. The American
Supreme Court (2d ed. 1994).
Mason, A. ed. Free Govt. in
the Making (1985 ed)
Schwartz, B. A History of
the Supreme Court (1993).
Semonche, J. Keeping The
Faith: A Cultural History of The Supreme Court (1998)
Urofsky, M. March of Liberty
(1988).
Wiecek, W., Liberty under
Law (1988).
D. The Bill of Rights:
Historical Function and Historical Studies.
Cogan, N .The Complete Bill
of Rights: the Drafts, Debates, Sources & Origins (1997).
Conley, P. & Kaminski,
J., The Bill of Rights and the States (1992).
Corwin, E. "The
Doctrine of Due Process of Law Before the Civil War," 24 Harvard Legal
Review 366 &460 (1941).
Lacey, M. & Haakonssen
K. eds.A Culture of Rights (1992).
Levy. L. Jefferson &
Civil Liberties (1963).
Plescia, J. The Bill of
Rights and Roman Law (1995).
Rutland, R. The Birth of the
Bill of Rights (1955).
Wilmarth, A. "Original
Purpose of the Bill of Rights," 26 American Criminal Law Review 1261
(1989).
E. The Fourteenth Amendment
Incorporation Problem.
Amar, A., "The Bill of
Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment," 101 Yale. Legal Journal 1193(1992).
Antieau, C. Intended
Significance of the 14 Amendment (1997).
Aynes, R. "Charles
Fairman, Felix Frankfurter & the 14th Amendment," 70 Chicago-Kent Law
Review 1197 (1995).
Belz, H. Emancipation and
Equal Rights (1978).
Bond, J. No Easy Walk to
Freedom (1997).
Curtis, M., No State Shall
Abridge (1986).
Kaczorowski, R.
"Revolutionary Constitutionalism in the Era of the Civil War &
Reconstruction," 61 New
York University Legal Review 863 (1986).
Kettner, J. The Development
of American Citizenship, 1609-1870
Kutler, S., Judicial Power
and Reconstruction Politics (1968).
Maltz, E. "Fourteenth
Amendment Concepts in the Antebellum Era," 32 American Journal of Legal History 305 (1988).
Maltz,
E. Civil Rights, the Constitution, and Congress (1990).
VIII.
COURSE SCHEDULE (tentative):
AUGUST
21: Course Orientation
AUGUST
23, 26: The Judicial System
Read
Chapter One
AUGUST
28, 30: Judicial Review
Read
Chapter Two
SEPTEMBER
2: No Class
SEPTEMBER
4: Selective Incorporation
Read
Chapter Three
SEPTEMBER
6: Review for Test One
SEPTEMBER
9: Brief Palko v. Connecticut, Powell v. Alabama, or Gideon v. Wainwright
SEPTEMBER
11: September 11 Symposium
SEPTEMBER
13: TEST ONE
SEPTEMBER
16: Race before the Equal Protection Clause
Read
pp. 619-628.
SEPTEMBER
18: Race and the Equal Protection Clause in the Nineteenth Century
Read
pp. 629-638.
SEPTEMBER
20: Brief Plessy v. Ferguson.
SEPTEMBER
23-25: Race and the Equal Protection Clause in the Early Twentieth Century
SEPTEMBER
27: Brown v. Board I and II
Read
pp. 638-645.
SEPTEMBER
30-OCTOBER 2: Guest Lecture
OCTOBER
4-7: EYES ON THE PRIZE VIDEOTAPE
OCTOBER
9-11: Race, Gender, and the Equal Protection Clause in the Twentieth Century
Read
Remainder of Chapter Twelve
OCTOBER 14: Brief Regents v. Bakke, Shaw v. Reno,
OCTOBER 16: Discussion on Strict Scrutiny,
Heightened Scrutiny, and “Rational” Discrimination.
OCTOBER 18: Review for Test Two
OCTOBER 21: Test Two
OCTOBER 23: Civil Liberties
OCTOBER 25 and 28: Freedom of Religion
Read Chapter Four
OCTOBER 30- NOVEMBER 4: Freedom of Speech and
Expression
Read
Chapters Five and Seven
NOVEMBER 6 and 8: SPSA
NOVEMBER
11: Freedom of the Press
Read
Chapter Six
NOVEMBER
13: The Right to Privacy
Read
Chapter Nine
NOVEMBER 15: Brief Sherbert v. Verner, Oregon v.
Smith, or School District of Abington Township v. Schempp
NOVEMBER
18 - 25: The Rights of the Accused
Read Chapters 10-11.
NOVEMBER 27: Videotape
NOVEMBER 29: Thanksgiving
DECEMBER 2: Review for Final
DECEMBER 4: Videotape
DECEMBER 6: Finals for Seniors
DECEMBER 9: Last Day of Class
Final
Examination - at time scheduled by registrar’s office