Race, Crime, and Citizenship in American Law OpenCourseWare: A Free Undergraduate Social Science Class by MIT on Race and Crime

Published Feb 06, 2009

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Students studying Political Science may be interested in 'Race, Crime and Citizenship in American Law,' an OpenCourseWare project from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This free self-study course reviews the connection between race and crime in the U.S., utilizing case studies and exploring citizenship concerns in a post-9/11 world.

Race, Crime and Citizenship in American Law: Course Specifics

Degree Level Free Audio Video Downloads
Undergraduate Yes No No Yes

Lectures/Notes Study Materials Tests/Quizzes
No Yes No

Race, Crime and Citizenship in American Law: Course Description

Professor Malick Ghachem provides OpenCourseWare students with materials from the Spring 2007 section of 'Race, Crime and Citizenship in American Law,' a lecture course he taught on the MIT campus. The course materials begin with an overview of the U.S. legal system, reviewing its policies, practices and penalties. Next, students study the nexus of race and crime as reflected in court sentencing, incarceration rates and inmate populations. Students then explore the issue of racial discrimination through several case studies centering on illegal immigration, capital punishment and the imbalanced design of the war on drugs. The course concludes with an examination of the connection between racial identities and national security policy; students investigate racial profiling in the wake of 9/11 and the historical significance of Japanese American internment during the 1940s. At MIT, this course is part of the curriculum for the Political Science department.

Student papers and an extensive reading list are available for this OpenCourseWare. To access this free online course, visit the race, crime and citizenship course page.

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