Critical Qualitative Research and the Intentional Torts (Austin)
Faculty
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| Regina Austin William A. Schnader Professor of Law, Emerita raustin@law.upenn.edu |
Additional Information
Experiential CourseYes
Skills Training
Team Projects
Expository Writing
Other Professional Skills:
Grading
100% Other ( Students enrolled in the course will be required to pick a topic, refine the topic through research, identify potential community partners, draft a research proposal and lay summary to be shared with potential community partners, and complete the forms required for Institutional Review Board approval.)
With Permission of Instructor
A draft and revisions are required.
Class meets in person.
Course Continuity
Students are encouraged to stay home if you are ill or experience flu-like symptoms. If you miss a class for any reason, it is still your responsibility to make up the work missed.
I offer the following to students who miss class due to illness:
- Class sessions are regularly recorded. If you are absent due to illness or some other unavoidable circumstance, email me and I can send you an email with instructions for accessing the recording for the class session(s) you missed.
- I will make PowerPoint slides or other class materials routinely available on the course site to everyone in the class.
Meeting Times/Location
MW 10:30AM - 11:50AM
Tanenbaum Hall 142
Category
Upper-Level
Credits
3.0
Critical Qualitative Research and the Intentional Torts (Proseminar) Spring Term 2021 M, W 10:30-11:50 am Instructors: Regina Austin (Emerita Professor, Law), Alissa M. Jordan (Assoc. Director, Center for Experimental Ethnography), and Juan Castrillón (Selden Multimodal Fellow, Annenberg)
Course Description This course is designed to introduce professional school students to critical multimodal qualitative research in two ways. First, the course will illustrate the value of qualitative research to the analysis of contemporary social justice controversies that are the subject of actual intentional torts litigation. Second, the course will prepare class participants to undertake qualitative research projects of their own in communities whose experience with social injustice is of concern to the participants.
Qualitative research involves collecting data through first-hand participant observation, interviews, oral histories, case studies, and ethnographic fieldwork. The research is "critical" when the researcher is engaged with a community impacted or benefited by injustice and joins with the community in undertaking research that is participatory and collaborative. The research is also "critical" because it aims to uncover the sources of power and control that account for the unfairness and injustice of the status quo and identify the conditions that would support greater freedom and equality for the community of concern.
Typically, the researcher and the partnering community are not equals in terms of social status and material resources. Therefore, critical qualitative research requires that ethical issues be addressed at every step to project completion (i.e., selecting a topic, drafting a proposal and lay summary, procuring the consent of community collaborators, obtaining IRB approval, collecting data, and disseminating findings).
Multimodal qualitative research takes advantage of digital technology (1) to collect data not only via written text but also with sound recordings, still cameras, and video cameras (including cellphones) and (2) to disseminate findings via blog posts, videos, digital archives, podcasts, and installations.
Among the intentional tort topics that the class will discuss are localism and physical violence in surfing; reproductive justice and structural constraints on women's consent to "medical procedures"; disparities in the regulation of fraternities, teams, and gangs; institutional punishment justified by the “adultification” of Black and Brown children; gentrification as a nuisance; cults and the intentional infliction of emotional distress; and low-status labor and false imprisonment.
October 17, 2022
Skills Learning outcomes: Demonstrate an understanding of the individual course skill; Demonstrate the ability to receive and implement feedback; Demonstrate an understanding of how and when the individual course skill is employed in practice.
Perspectives on the Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate an understanding of how the law affects, and is affected by, the individual course topic; Perform legal analysis in the context of the individual course topic; Communicate effectively on the legal and other aspects of the individual course topic; Demonstrate the ability to use other disciplines to analyze legal issues relevant to the individual course topic, including economics, philosophy, and sociology, as appropriate.
Professional Responsibility and Ethics Learning outcomes: Demonstrate an understanding of how the law affects, and is affected by, the individual course topic; Perform legal analysis in the context of the individual course topic; Communicate effectively on the legal and other aspects of the individual course topic; Demonstrate the ability to use other disciplines to analyze legal issues relevant to the individual course topic, including economics, philosophy, and sociology, as appropriate.
Public Interest Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of the varied legal aspects of public interest law; Perform legal analysis in the context of public interest law; Communicate effectively on topics related to public interest law; Demonstrate an understanding of how public interest law is connected to and affected by a wide variety of legal and regulatory structures and doctrines.
Equity and Inclusion Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of the varied legal aspects of equity and inclusion; Perform legal analysis in the context of topics related to equity and inclusion; Communicate effectively on the legal aspects of equity and inclusion; Demonstrate an understanding of how equity and inclusion are connected to and affected by a wide variety of legal and regulatory structures and doctrines.
Textbooks
"Critical Ethnography: Methods, Ethics, and Performance " by D. Soyini Madison |