Stanford University won Campus Reform’s first annual Biased Course Contest on Friday for a class titled, “History of the Police in the United States: Slave Patrols to Ferguson.”
The five-unit history class explores the question, “How did the police come to have the power to use violence?” according to the course description, and fulfills a humanities requirement.
“The historical relationship between race and the administration of policing is a central question,” says the description. “Students will hone the methodology necessary to examine primary sources such as police memoirs, court records, police files, detective novels, music videos and photographs.”
The instructor, Branden Ames, declined to comment in an email to the Washington Times.
The conservative website Campus Reform reported receiving 37 submissions for the award, which focuses on classes “currently being offered at U.S. colleges that present a skewed perspective on major political issues.”
The winning entry was submitted by Stanford student Nick Sovich, who received $500.
The runners-up were “Taking Marx Seriously,” an advanced political-science seminar at Amherst College submitted by student Avery Riggs, and “The Refusal to Work,” a communications elective at Cornell University submitted by student Casey Breznick.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.