In Sociology this week, we will continue with our unit on Race and Ethnic relations, using The New Jim Crow as a parallel text. Towards the end of the week, we will begin working on a research paper that will require you to utilize the content we have examined over the past couple of weeks. Please keep all of The New Jim Crow excerpts you have received in a safe place, as we will refer back to them.
Please note this week's assignment schedule:
Tuesday 12/2 - Excerpt from Chapter 2 "The Lockdown" due at the beginning of class. In addition to reading and annotating this excerpt, please answer the following questions. This assignment will count as a quiz grade. To receive full credit, all of your answers should be at least 3-4 complete sentences.
1. How does Alexander juxtapose the first two paragraphs of the excerpt? What might be her intention with this strategy? How does this juxtaposition set the stage for the rest of the excerpt?
2. Alexander argues that the War on Drugs is the necessary lens for understanding mass incarceration. Cite where in the excerpt she makes this point most directly.
3. Far more people are arrested for possessing drugs than for selling them. Cite the statistical evidence that Alexander provides to substantiate this claim. What is your opinion on this approach of the War on Drugs?
4. Alexander includes lots of statistics and data in the beginning of this excerpt. Which of these do you find most compelling or important? Why? Which do you think would surprise most people? Why?
5. How is a police officer able to search a random person on the street? What amounts to “consent” in these instances? What reason does Alexander give for being suspicious of the “consent” given?
6. A highway patrol officer is quoted saying, “It’s sheer numbers. ... You’ve got to kiss a lot of frogs before you find a prince.” What policing technique is he describing? Who are the “frogs” and who is the “prince”? What are the benefits of this approach to law enforcement? What are its problems for civilians?
7. Alexander describes consent searches, pretext stops, the “volume” approach and the use of “drug-courier profiles.” What concerns does she raise in terms of the potential of these practices leading to widespread racial discrimination?
8. Alexander raises the question of why police who are responsible for solving violent crimes, such as murder and rape, would invest so much of their time focusing on nonviolent low-level drug arrests instead. What answers does she give?
9. What is the “prison label”? Alexander writes, “Reducing the amount of time people spend behind bars—by eliminating harsh mandatory minimums—will alleviate some of the unnecessary suffering caused by this system, but it will not disturb the closed circuit.” What is her point?
Please note this week's assignment schedule:
Tuesday 12/2 - Excerpt from Chapter 2 "The Lockdown" due at the beginning of class. In addition to reading and annotating this excerpt, please answer the following questions. This assignment will count as a quiz grade. To receive full credit, all of your answers should be at least 3-4 complete sentences.
1. How does Alexander juxtapose the first two paragraphs of the excerpt? What might be her intention with this strategy? How does this juxtaposition set the stage for the rest of the excerpt?
2. Alexander argues that the War on Drugs is the necessary lens for understanding mass incarceration. Cite where in the excerpt she makes this point most directly.
3. Far more people are arrested for possessing drugs than for selling them. Cite the statistical evidence that Alexander provides to substantiate this claim. What is your opinion on this approach of the War on Drugs?
4. Alexander includes lots of statistics and data in the beginning of this excerpt. Which of these do you find most compelling or important? Why? Which do you think would surprise most people? Why?
5. How is a police officer able to search a random person on the street? What amounts to “consent” in these instances? What reason does Alexander give for being suspicious of the “consent” given?
6. A highway patrol officer is quoted saying, “It’s sheer numbers. ... You’ve got to kiss a lot of frogs before you find a prince.” What policing technique is he describing? Who are the “frogs” and who is the “prince”? What are the benefits of this approach to law enforcement? What are its problems for civilians?
7. Alexander describes consent searches, pretext stops, the “volume” approach and the use of “drug-courier profiles.” What concerns does she raise in terms of the potential of these practices leading to widespread racial discrimination?
8. Alexander raises the question of why police who are responsible for solving violent crimes, such as murder and rape, would invest so much of their time focusing on nonviolent low-level drug arrests instead. What answers does she give?
9. What is the “prison label”? Alexander writes, “Reducing the amount of time people spend behind bars—by eliminating harsh mandatory minimums—will alleviate some of the unnecessary suffering caused by this system, but it will not disturb the closed circuit.” What is her point?