POLS 490 WRT Politics and Punishment Spring 2013 Professor Michael Leo Owens, Ph.D.

Department of Political Science Office: Tarbutton 333 (Hours: 10:30a-12:30p on Thursdays and by appointment) Email: michael.leo.owens@emory.edu Twitter: @milo_phd Skype: uhurushalom Seven million Americans (1 of every 31 adults) are under correctional control in prison and jail or on probation and parole. Thus, America leads the world in imprisonment. We imprison as much as we do because of politics. Certain groups consistently win contests over the authority to allocate penalties and distribute burdens (and benefits) that create and sustain the carceral state. The contests take place via democratic processes (e.g., referenda, elections, and juries) and in republican institutions (e.g., state legislatures, judiciaries, parole boards). Yet there are important debates about the set of political factors that best explain mass incarceration in America. Accordingly, in this discussion-oriented, writing-intensive undergraduate seminar we will consider a variety of ways that politics shapes punishment (and punitiveness) and punishment shapes politics. January 17 Introductions and Overview We will use some video clips, graphs, and images regarding Louisiana to get us started. Why Louisiana? Youll see. http://media.nola.com/graphics/photo/map-incarceration-051312jpg7d89e406e9497ce4.jpg http://videos.nola.com/times-picayune/2012/05/louisiana_incarcerated_intro_v.html http://media.nola.com/graphics/photo/chart-prisonpop-051312jpgb582f8afad0faba3.jpg http://media.nola.com/graphics/photo/fullpage-4reasonswhyla-051312jpgb881311b781e049c.jpg http://media.nola.com/graphics/photo/pri-chart-prisonerspendingjpg0d1ca9a2c5e1cfb9.jpg http://media.nola.com/crime_impact/photo/chart-statesentencing-051612jpg81dae98d2ab44802.jpg http://media.nola.com/graphics/photo/chart-warondrugs-051612jpg1fa705349f589d51.jpg http://videos.nola.com/times-picayune/2012/05/louisiana_incarcerated_angola.html http://videos.nola.com/timespicayune/2012/05/louisiana_incarcerated_johna_h.html

January 23 Imprisonment in America: Purposes, Populations, Politics, and Public Opinion William Zinsser, The Transaction and Simplicity, On Writing Well: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction, Anniversary Edition, pp. 3-6 and 7-12

Franklin Zimring and David Johnson, Public Opinion and the Governance of Punishment in Democratic Political Systems, ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (2006), pp. 266-269 and 271 (paragraph on criminals) Cesare Beccaria, On Crime and Punishments (1764), Classics of Criminology, pp. 277-286 Michel Foucault, The Body of the Condemned and Generalized Punishment, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison (1978), p. 24-26 and pp. 89-103 Mark A.R. Kleiman, The Trap, When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (2009), pp. 8-15 Gottschalk, Marie. 2006. The Prison and the Gallows: The Politics of Mass Incarceration in America, pp. 1-6 and 43-47. Stuart Scheingold, The Politicization of Crime, The Politics of Law and Order (1984), pp. 37-57 The Pew Center on the States, One in 31: The Long Reach of American Corrections, pp. 4-21, 1:31 Public Opinion Strategies/The Mellman Group, Public Opinion on Sentencing and Corrections Policy in America, March 2012, pp. 1-8 January 30 Taking Honest Stock of the Full History of the Prison William Zinsser, Clutter, On Writing Well: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction, Anniversary Edition, pp. 13-17 Robert Perkinson, Texas Tough: The Rise of Americas Prison Empire (2010), pp.1-12, 15-46, 68-78, 89-90, 92-131, 135-143, 246-250, 286-374 February 6 Causes of Prison Expansion: Unusual Suspects (Unwitting Accomplices) William Zinsser, Style, On Writing Well: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction, Anniversary Edition, pp. 18-24 Kevin Smith, The Politics of Punishment: Evaluating Political Explanations of Incarceration Rates, Journal of Politics (2004), pp. 925-938 Marie Gottschalk, The Prison and the Gallows: The Politics of Mass Incarceration in America (2006), pp. 77-196 February 13 Penal Regimes: Corrections as Institutional Choices and Democratic Designs William Zinsser, Words, On Writing Well: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction, Anniversary Edition, pp. 33-37

Vanessa Barker, The Politics of Imprisonment: How the Democratic Process Shapes the Way America Punishes Offenders (2009), pp. 1-188 February 20 Pressure + Populism + Political Opportunism = Excessive Punishment William Zinsser, Usage, On Writing Well: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction, Anniversary Edition, 38-46 Franklin Zimring, Gordon Hawkins, and Sam Kamin, Punishment and Democracy: Three Strikes and You're Out in California (2001), pp. 3-27, 41-105, 125-147, 167-177 Emily Bazelon, How Californias Three-Strikes Law Struck Out, Salon (20102), entire article Californians for Safety and Justice, Why California Voters Passed Proposition 36 and What Criminal Justice Changes They Want Next (2012), read the entire press release February 27 Civic Imprisonment: Varieties of Democratic Exclusion of Felons William Zinsser, Bits & Pieces, On Writing Well: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction, Anniversary Edition, pp. 68-88 Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (2010), pp. 139-153 Jeff Manza and Christopher Uggen, Locked Out: Felon Disenfranchisement and American Democracy (2006), pp. 11-94, 113-163, and 214-219 Vesla Weaver and Amy Lerman, Political Consequences of the Carceral State, American Political Science Review (201), pp. 817-833 Michael Leo Owens & Adrienne Smith, Deviants and Democracy: Punitive Policy Designs and the Social Rights of Felons as Citizens, American Politics Research (2012), pp. 531-567 March 6 Racial Politics of the War on Drugs & Mass Incarceration Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (2010), pp. 30-136 and 173-208 James Forman, Racial Critiques of Mass Incarceration: Beyond the New Jim Crow, New York University Law Review (2012), pp. 101-146 In class video: James Forman, Jr. at the Black Crusade for Children, December 15, 2010 March 13 Spring Break!!!
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March 20 Political Venues for Power and Powerlessness over Punishment Lisa Miller, The Perils of Federalism: Race, Poverty, and the Politics of Crime Control (2008), pp. 3-187 March 27 When Justice is Unjust: Politics & the Wrongly Convicted Lola Vollen and Dave Eggers (Eds.), Surviving Justice: Americas Wrongfully Convicted and Exonerated (2008), pp. 3-14, 401-434, 15-43,75-104, 131-157, 181-220, 247-283, 381-396 Michael Leo Owens and Elizabeth Griffiths, Uneven Reparations for Wrongful Convictions: Examining the State Politics of Statutory Compensation Legislation, Albany Law Review (2012), pp. 1283-1327 April 3 Seeing the Wrongs of Corrections In class film: American Violet April 10 Death Penalty Politics: Is Abolition in Our Future? Frank Baumgartner, Suzanna De Boef, and Amber Boydstun, The Decline of the Death Penalty and the Discovery of Innocence (2008), pp. 1-9, 23-101, 114-134, and 169-184 Joe Soss, Laura Lengbein, and Alan Metelko, Why Do White Americans Support the Death Penalty?, Journal of Politics (2003), pp. 397-421 April 17 American Exceptionalism: Comparative Politics of Punishment Adam Liptak, U.S. Prison Population Dwarfs that of Other Nations, New York Times (2008), pp. 1-4 James Whitman, Harsh Justice: Criminal Punishment and the Widening Divide between America and Europe (2003), pp. 19-150 Cheryl Marie Webster and Anthony Doob, America in a Larger World: The Future of the Penal Harm Movement, Criminology & Public Policy (2008), pp. 473-483

April 24 The Future of the Carceral States of America Stuart Scheingold, The Politics of Criminal Process, from The Politics of Law and Order (1984), pp. 224-231 Marie Gottschalk, The Prison and the Gallows: The Politics of Mass Incarceration in America (2006), pp. 236-263. The Pew Center on the States, One in 31: The Long Reach of American Corrections, p. 31 The Sentencing Project, To Build a Better Criminal Justice System: 25 Experts Envision the Next 25 Years of Reform (2012), pp. 5-63 Shelley Johnson, Listwan, Cheryl Lero Jonson, Francis T. Cullen, and Edward J. Latessa, Cracks in the Penal Harm Movement: Evidence from the Field, Criminology and Public Policy (2008), pp. 423-465. Writing: Research Paper (45%) Because this is a writing seminar, each student will research, draft, revise, and submit an independent paper, totaling 20-25 pages of text, not including endnotes/footnotes, appendices, or references. Students, in consultation with Professor Owens, will select their own topics. In picking a topic, students are encouraged to pursue hunches (i.e., ideas about the relationship between two or more things). They also are encouraged to study their states (or nations). Given the broad theme of the course, there is perhaps no limit to the possible choices (and hunches). Below are examples only suggestions of themes that one could independently explore and address in a paper:
Connection between punitiveness and elections of prosecutors and judges The political economy of prisons in rural areas The diffusion of solitary confinement as policy Politics and private prisons Passage of the federal Second Chance Act Hip hop analysis of the prison industrial complex Demographic composition of legislatures & state punitiveness Banishment of lawbreakers from communities Politics of punishing juveniles Bans on felons as jurors and/or public officials Conservative-led reforms (e.g., Inner Change Freedom Initiative) Prison abolition Sentencing reform organizations (e.g., Drug Policy Alliance, Sentencing Project, Innocence Project) The ban the box movement Community organizing by felons for rights Felons as lobbyists and prisoners as interests groups The electoral causes and consequences of overcriminalization School-to-Prison pipeline Political nature of presidential pardons Public opinion about punishment Racial politics & punishment State referendums decriminalizing marijuana

Below is the schedule of due dates for developing, drafting, and submitting the paper: February 1 Selection of paper topic February 22 Paper outline, preliminary bibliography, and draft opening paragraph March 29 Draft paper April 26 Revised paper

Engagement: Co-Leadership (20%) & Contributions to Discussion (20%) The course is a seminar. Accordingly, Professor Owens expects active participation, which involves asking pertinent questions, answering questions voluntarily, sharing relevant insights, and contributing to the general learning of peers. The requirements are that you will read closely, take notes on the materials, and think critically about each assigned reading before coming to seminar. Following the first full session on 1/23, students will volunteer to co-lead the discussion of two seminar sessions. Effective leadership will require students to (a) prepare well in advance (e.g., reading the materials, identifying themes for discussion and questions for deliberation, etc.), (b) assist Professor Owens in guiding others in a discussion of the movies and readings, and (c) encourage collective consideration and critique of the materials by their peers. Co-leadership also obligates students to meet with Professor Owens in advance of the sessions under their coleadership. Additionally, students will use Twitter (#POLS490polipuni) at least once a week to share brief reactions/comments that relate to the readings, the general topic of the seminar, or news stories or popular culture related to the seminars theme and subjects. Tweets will count towards contributions to discussion. Twitter is simple to learn and use. Review the basics via http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWV74mndNaY&feature=youtu.be. Attendance is mandatory and there will be an attendance log for the seminar's screenings and sessions. Absences influence active participation, which influence final grades. Excused absences (e.g., death in the family, severe personal or familial illnesses, or job interviews) will not influence your grade. More than one unexcused absences from the seminars sessions will result in an automatic reduction of the final (overall) seminar grade by two increments (e.g., an A reduces to a B+). Cumulative Exam (15%) The final exam will be essay-based and cumulative in nature. It will have two parts. The first part of the exam will take the form of an extended Op-Ed article (approximately 1000-1500 words). Heres the scenario: The New York Times has approached you to write an opinion piece on spec about mass incarceration in the United States, based on your knowledge of politics and punishment. What does the Times expect? heres what it tells prospective Op-Ed contributors (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/01/opinion/01SHIP.html): Among other things, we look for timeliness, ingenuity, strength of argument, freshness of opinion, clear writing and newsworthiness. Personal experiences and first-person narrative can be great, particularly when they're in service to a larger idea. So is humor, when it's funny. Eschew, um, I mean, stay away from Olympian language and bureaucratic jargon (infrastructure, inputs, outlays). Write the article the way you'd like to write it not the way you think The Times wants you to write it. Make one argument thoroughly, point by point; the more detail the better. If you try to do too

much, you can wind up with an article that, in striving to say everything, ends up saying nothing. You have between 750 and 1,250 words for your Op-Ed. The Op-Ed is due no later than May 6 at 7:00pm (the deadline is firm, no extensions). The second part of the exam will take the form of a tweet (#POLS490polipuni): In 140 words or less, summarize what you think is the most important point you learned about politics and punishment in the United States. Students may attach photos or links to their tweets. The Tweet must be posted on May 6 by 7pm. Miscellaneous: (1) Field Trips (tentative) Professor Owens will attempt to arrange two field trips related to the seminar. The trips may include a visit to a state prison in rural Georgia and a meeting of ex-prisoners in the city of Decatur. The trips will depend on student availability and public access to the prison and meeting . (2) Music about Politics and Punishment Professor Owens loves music. Throughout the semester well take few minutes to listen to and reflect on songs related to themes in our course. Students are encouraged to suggest songs (and lyrics) that relate to the course. Below are samples of songs that he posts to the Facebook page Punishing Music, and he encourage all students to identify other songs that may help us talk about the politics of punishment in the United States and around the world: Akon, Locked Up dead prez, Police State Flatline, Prison Song Ice Cube, Check Yo Self Jasiri X, I Am Troy Davis (T.R.O.Y.) Johnny Cash, Folsom Prison Blues Johnny Cash, 25 Minutes to Go Loretta Lynn, Womens Prison Merle Haggard, Mama Tried Public Enemy, Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos Rehab, Bartender (Sittin at a Bar) Sam Cooke, Chain Gang Slick Rick, Behind Bars Steve Earle, Ellis Unite One System of a Down, Prison Song 10,000 Maniacs, Im Not the Man The Real Lil Dee, Felony Tupac, 16 On Death Row