US police brutality

In reflecting on contemporary politics, political theorist Agamben (1998) writes that “homo sacer” or “sacred man” is he who “may be killed but not sacrificed” (p.82). Another term for “homo sacer” is an “outlaw,” or someone who is not afforded full political rights of a community and can be punished outside the law. Along with other political theorists, Agamben argues that a quintessential feature of contemporary politics is how states define whose lives are valuable and whose lives can be made exceptions to the law and may be extinguished.

In this project, you will closely investigate and research a type of “outlaw” to understand how a particular state defines and assigns value to human life. You will draw on existing course material as well as new sources that you locate to prepare your paper.

You are invited to study an “outlaw” in one of the following three contexts (or another context with approval):

· Extrajudicial punishment: a type of state violence in which an individual faces brutality and acts of violence in the absence of being formally charged and convicted of a particular crime.

· See coverage of global protests against police brutality for inspiration about cases beyond the U.S. or consider drones, as we studied with the Chamayou reading. The study of refugees and the violence they face might also be appropriate to study here.

GUIDELINES FOR THE PAPER

You will prepare a paper that is approximately 4-5 double-spaced pages, not including references. Your paper should include the following three specific sections I outline below. You must also provide in-text citations and a full reference list with complete bibliographic information in ASA (American Sociological Association) and you can visit OWL Purdue here to see how ASA-style reference look).

The paper should be organized into the following sections. Be sure to write an introduction as well . Each section should draw on reliable and accurate sources (including academic research articles, books, newspapers, and/or governmental data).

1. Theoretical Approach

a. In this section, you will identify a theoretical approach from Section I of the course and discuss how this theoretical approach can help explain the “outlaw” issue you are studying. You should explain the theoretical approach (what are the key arguments in this theory?) and then you should make an argument for how this theoretical perspective is a useful way to approach your topic and how it can offer insights about the issue you are studying. You should also present clearly the case that you are examining (the country) and why you have chosen this case to study.

2. Sociological Approaches

a. In this section, you will synthesize existing peer-review studies related to “outlaw” issue that you are researching. You should describe findings from three peer-reviewed research studies (or excerpts from academic books) that shed light on important sociological aspects of the issue. Any study that considers the issue from a sociological perspective (i.e., emphasizes social forces, institutions, and/or addresses issues of race, class, gender, sexuality, age, religion, etc

3. Ongoing Social Movements & Debates

a. For this section, you must include a discussion of ongoing concerns, challenges, and questions as it relates to the “outlaw” issue you are studying. You should mention any social movements that have been particularly influential in the country you are studying. You are required to include the assessments of activists who are working on these issues; this can include platforms of organizations dedicated to the issue or statements of activists or politicians as they appear in local/national/international newspapers and news outlets.

Grading Rubric for Final Paper

Requirement	Points
1. Quality of Theoretical section Information presented is rigorous, substantive, and provides clear historical context for issue under study.	15
2. Quality of Sociological Approaches section Information presented is rigorous, substantive, and describes and summarizes findings from three research studies.	30
3. Quality of Social Movements section Information presented is rigorous, substantive, and addresses contemporary debates and social movements as it relates to the issue under study.	15
4. Quality of Writing and Sources Author writes in a clear, concise manner and the argument of the section follows logically from paragraph to paragraph. Author locates academic and reliable sources and presents the findings of these sources accurately.	10
5. References and In-Text Citations Author provides in-text citations and complete references from work consulted.	10
TOTAL (maximum points possible)	80