PL103 Dorton Fall2023: Option 1: Fostering Cultural Competence
Option 1
Cultural and social factors hugely influence how the law treats different communities. Similarly, these factors impact the quality of legal services and the treatment received by clients of legal professionals.
This project will involve research and interviews to analyze and elevate:
1) issues a marginalized population (of your choosing) faces navigating the legal system and
2) the ethical requirements for licensed legal professionals to develop cultural competency.
The findings will be presented through a traditional research paper or alternative formats such as a podcast episode or short documentary video. Additionally, the project should include a 1-2 page summary handout to be used as a practical tool for legal professionals working with the studied community.
For any format, research will include scholarly sources, relevant data, and interviews with subject matter experts to provide insights into systemic biases and barriers and how legal providers can provide competent and respectful legal assistance.
News and media coverage of minoritized groups
Find news and media coverage to learn more about the population you've selected.
- Diversity Studies (Gale OneFile) This link opens in a new windowUseful for social science, history and liberal arts coursework, this collection explores cultural differences, contributions and influences in our global community. This set includes 250 journals.
- Alt-PressWatch This link opens in a new windowA full text collection of newspapers, magazines and journals of the alternative and independent press. View the Alt-Press Watch handout.
- US Major Dailies This link opens in a new windowFull text newspapers from five U.S. national and regional newspapers: New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and the Chicago Tribune
- EBSCOhost This link opens in a new windowSearch from a wide range of research databases for magazine and journal articles. Updated daily. View the EBSCOhost handout
Mobile URL: EBSCOhost Mobile - Popular Magazines (Gale OneFile) This link opens in a new windowFeatures full text coverage of the top 1,000 most searched magazines across Gale's InfoTrac. Current events, sports, science, health and more.
Video: How to search for books at PCC Library
Learn how to use Portland Community College Library's search to find books and other items at PCC Library.
Legal journals
- HeinOnline Academic This link opens in a new windowHeinOnline Academic is a government documents and legal research database. It contains over 1600 full-text legal periodicals, historical texts, and foreign and international materials. Primary legal materials include the Federal Register, U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Reports. U.S. Supreme court decisions, presidential documents, attorney general opinions, state and federal case law, and much more.
- LegalTrac (Gale OneFile) This link opens in a new windowProvides full-text coverage of major law reviews, legal newspapers, bar association journals and international legal journals.
Books, ebooks and videos
The PCC Library, or one of its partner libraries, will probably have books and Ebooks about the population that you are researching. You could begin with one of these simple searches:
You may find a chapter or short film that you could recommend to legal professionals working with this population to enhance their cultural competence.