History of Police Militarization in the United States 4219-SH0023
The course offers an abridged history of militarization in American law enforcement agencies. The primary objective of the course is to explore the chronological development of American policing, from the times of British model to the current SWAT teams. Reading the selected key texts will enable such analyses of American policing from the late 19th century to present, demonstrating the gradual militarization of law enforcement agencies in four indicators: material, cultural, organizational, and operational. While the central focus will be on the structural and practical development of police departments, the secondary objective of this course is to introduce a critical lens through which policing can be viewed in a broader context than "crime prevention."
We will examine policing as an element of a larger socio-political mechanism which allows for multi-faceted functions of Paramilitary Police Units—or SWAT teams. To discover such aspects, we will analyze history books, theory books, newspaper articles, Presidential speeches, public campaigns, domestic and foreign policies, geopolitical conflicts, video games, movies, and comics.
Testing the historically-evolving function of policing in wider dimensions of social structures will provide a critical lens of analyzing issues related to policing.
Rodzaj przedmiotu
Tryb prowadzenia
mieszany: w sali i zdalnie
Koordynatorzy przedmiotu
Efekty kształcenia
1. KNOWLEDGE
The student will have:
- acquired the essential knowledge on the historical evolution of American policing
- discovered the aspects of policing different than crime prevention
- familiarized with the theory of police power
2. SKILLS
The student will be able to:
- read history texts and conduct comparative analyses on American policing
- acquire and apply instruments of critical thinking to discover socio-political phenomena
- write academic texts on American policing based on historical and theoretical knowledge
3. COMPETENCES
The student will:
- habituate critical thinking for analyzing American policing
- use his/her verbal communication skills to engage in academic debates
- develop an open-minded thinking about socio-political concepts
Kryteria oceniania
Active involvement of students will be an essential part of assessment process. In-class debates and close readings will constitute the majority of the classes.
Active participation in classes: 35%
Digital quiz games: 15%
Final paper 50%
The student needs to achieve the minimum of 60% grade to pass the course.
Literatura
French, Laurence Armand. The History of Policing America: From Militias and Military to the Law Enforcement Today. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018.
Kraska, Peter B. Militarizing the American Justice System: The Changing Roles of the Armed Forces and the Police. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2001.
Kraska, Peter B. and Victor E. Kappeler. “Militarizing American Police: The Rise and Normalization of Paramilitary Units.” Social Problems 44, no. 1 (February 1997): 1-18.
Neocleous, Mark. War Power, Police Power. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2014.
Schrader, Stuart. Badges without Borders: How Global Counterinsurgency Transformed American Policing. California: University of California Press, 2019.
Balko, Radley. Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America’s Police Forces. New York: PublicAffairs, 2013.
Więcej informacji
Dodatkowe informacje (np. o kalendarzu rejestracji, prowadzących zajęcia, lokalizacji i terminach zajęć) mogą być dostępne w serwisie USOSweb: