JUST 801 (07) - Graduate Seminar in Justice Studies

GradSem/JusticeOnTheBigScreen

Durham Liberal Arts::Justice Studies
Credits: 4.0
Class Size: 8 
Term:  Spring 2025 - Full Term (01/21/2025 - 05/05/2025)
CRN:  56204
Grade Mode:  Letter Grading
Seminar on advanced material in which the instructor has specialized knowledge through research and study. Topics may include the death penalty, terrorism, psychology of the jury, immigration, history of the law. Content of specific sections will vary by section of the course. Course may be repeated for different topics.
Section Comments: Justice on the Big Screen: Separating Fact or Fiction from Hollywood's Legal Drama's
Registration Approval Required. Contact Instructor or Academic Department for permission then register through Webcat.
Cross Listed With : JUST 701 (07)
Repeat Rule: May be repeated for a maximum of 8 credits.
Only listed majors in section: JUSTICE STUDIES:: Justice Studies
Instructors:  J Kirk Trombley

Times & Locations

Start Date End Date Days Time Location
1/21/2025 5/5/2025 M 12:40pm - 3:30pm HUDD 224B

Additional Course Details:

Justice on the Big Screen: Separating Fact or Fiction from Hollywood's Legal Dramas:
Have you ever watched a movie about a famous trial and asked, “Is that what really happeed?” For example, fact or fiction: In the movie  Just Mercy, was Walter Macmillan really sentenced to death for a crime he didn’t commit or was that just Hollywood fiction? Fact or fiction, in the movie The Trial of the Chicago 7, was the defendant Bobby Seale really bound, gagged and shackled to his chair in open court or was that too just Hollywood fiction?  Fact or fiction: Was Tom Cruise’s character in A Few Good Men, real or just a Hollywood character? Was it real or just fiction on a movie reel?

In this course  we will examine some of the famous trials that became the basis for Hollywood movies,  watch the movies, read about the trials and examine the trial records and history of those cases to answer the question of whether the movies are Fact or Fiction. In doing so, students will learn about a variety of cases on subjects such as the death penalty, the 1st Amendment, religion and the law, race and slavery, the right to counsel, environmental cases, the Salem witch trials  and more. Students will also learn about the trial process and how cases make it from the court room to the movie theater.

The course draws upon the multidisciplinary class makeup to read, study, watch the movies and present on those cases. There are reading and writing assignments for each class and group presentations.