College Catalog: 2015-2016
School of Social Science and Human Services (SSHS): Law and Society (B.A.)
Website: School of Social Science and Human Services
The Law and Society program is a broad-based interdisciplinary major that is rooted deeply in the liberal arts. The major spans the humanities and the social sciences, incorporating the insights and methodologies of such disciplines as: anthropology, criminology, economics, history, gender studies, literature, philosophy, political science, psychology, sociology, and comparative studies. The program is broader than the study of criminal justice, which is but one aspect of the major. The major offers students the opportunity to explore the ways in which law intersects with its larger social, historical, political and economic world. Throughout the major, students develop an awareness of the historical and contemporary contexts for the study of law, and an appreciation of how various theories of jurisprudence have molded and continue to mold our understanding of law. Students also gain an appreciation for the complex ways that social issues interface with the law, and how biases about race, class, gender, nationality, ethnicity and other forms of inequality may influence how the law is created, interpreted and implemented. This major fosters a comprehensive understanding of the American legal system, its place within the larger context of comparative legal traditions, and its role in the international legal realm.
Completion of LAW AND SOCIETY is a prerequisite to all further study in the major.
The Law and Society major emphasizes analytical and critical thinking through effective oral and written presentation. It also fosters experiential and life-long learning through its capstone requirements of fieldwork and the composition of a Law and Society thesis. It thus provides a solid foundation for many professional and non-professional careers – including the practice of law, law enforcement, public service, health care, social services and legal administration. The major is not intentionally designed to be either a pre-law or pre-law enforcement degree, although many of its graduates do enter into these two careers each year. A pre-law or pre-law enforcement degree is not a requirement for these careers.
The major is offered by the School of Social Science and Human Services and leads to a B.A. degree. A minor is not available.
Outcome 1: Students will form a knowledge base in the foundational principles of law, justice, humanities and social science.
Outcome 2: Students will be able to analyze legal, moral and scientific arguments.
Outcome 3: Students will be able to compare legal systems using historical, cross-cultural, and interdisciplinary methods.
Outcome 4: Students will be able to demonstrate proficiency in researching and use primary and secondary legal and scholarly sources.
Outcome 5: Students will be able to present clear oral and written argumentation on sociolegal issues.
Outcome 6: Students will connect the law in action to course concepts.
Outcome 7: Students will be able to connect course content/materials with out of class experiences.
- Transfer students who have 48 or more credits accepted at the time of transfer are waived from the courses marked with a (W) below. Waivers only apply to General Education Requirements NOT School Core or Major Requirements.
- Double counting between General Education, School Core, and Major may be possible. Check with your advisor to see if any apply.
- Writing Intensive Requirement (six courses): three writing intensive courses in the general education curriculum are required: First Year Seminar, Critical Reading and Writing), and Readings in the Humanities; the other three courses are taken in the major.
- Not all courses are offered each semester. Please check the current Schedule of Classes for semester course offerings.
LAW AND SOCIETY MAJOR
- Subject & Course # – Title & Course Description
- GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS
- INTD 101 - FIRST YEAR SEMINAR (W)
- CRWT 102 - CRITICAL READING AND WRITING II
- AIID 201 - READINGS IN THE HUMANITIES (W)
- SELECT ONE – [W] GE-HISTORY CATEGORY: HIST 101-110
- SELECT ONE – GE-MATHEMATICS CATEGORY: MATH 101-121
- SELECT ONE – GE-SCIENCE WITH EXPERIENTIAL COMPONENT CATEGORY
- SELECT ONE – GE-INTERCULTURAL NORTH AMERICA CATEGORY
- SELECT ONE – GE-INTERNATIONAL ISSUES CATEGORY
- SELECT ONE – (W) GE-TOPICS ARTS AND HUMANITIES CATEGORY
- SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMAN SERVICES REQUIREMENTS
- SOSC 101 - SOCIAL ISSUES
- SOSC 235 - HISTORY OF SOCIAL THOUGHT
- SUSTAINABILITY COURSE: SELECT ONE
- ENSC 325 - BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
- ENSC 327 -
- ENST 207 - PUBLIC POLICY
- ENST 209 - WORLD SUSTAINABILITY
- ENST 215 - ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY
- ENST 234 - NATURAL HISTORY AND APPLIED FIELD ECOLOGY
- ENST 312 - ECOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
- ENST 313 - APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY
- ENST 335 - ECOLOGY, SOCIETY, AND THE SACRED
- ENST 338 - SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
- ENST 390 - TOPICS:
- GEOG 303 - WATER RESOURCES
- GEOG 304 - FOREST RESOURCES
- INTD 250 - SUSTAINABILITY SEMINAR
- PSYC 343 - ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
- SOCI 235 - COMPARATIVE DEVELOPMENT
- SOCI 306 - ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIOLOGY
- SOCI 309 - FOOD AND POPULATION
- LAW AND SOCIETY MAJOR REQUIREMENTS
- INTRODUCTORY COURSES: REQUIRED
- LAWS 131 - LAW & SOCIETY
- CORE COURSES: REQUIRED
- LAWS 201 - GLOBAL LEGAL ORDER
- LAWS 233 - REVOLUTION,REBELLION & DEMOCRACY
- LAWS 251 - LAW, POWER AND INEQUALITY
- LAWS 353 - SOCIOLEGAL RESEARCH & WRITING
- CHOOSE FOUR ELECTIVES (ONE FROM EACH CATEGORY)
- LAW AND SOCIAL JUSTICE:
- LAWS 206 - HUMAN RIGHTS
- LAWS 214 - DISABILITY LAW & SOCIETY
- LAWS 224 - CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
- LAWS 240 - LAW AND SEXUALITY
- LAWS 310 - LAW AND THE ELDERLY
- LAWS 332 - PSYCHOLOGY AND THE LAW
- LAWS 341 - GENDER AND THE LAW
- LAWS 351 - CONSTITUTIONAL LIBERTIES
- CULTURE AND HUMANITIES:
- LAWS 202 - FAMOUS TRIALS
- LAWS 210 - LAW JUSTICE AND MORALITY
- LAWS 215 - MOOT COURT
- LAWS 315 - LAW AND CULTURE
- LAWS 330 - MEDIA AND THE LAW
- LAWS 340 - CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
- LAWS 342 - LYRICS AND THE LAW
- GLOBALIZATION AND SUSTAINABILITY:
- ENST 326 - ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
- LAWS 220 - LAW AND ECONOMIC THOUGHT
- LAWS 250 - LAW AND SUSTAINABILITY
- LAWS 320 - TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE
- LAWS 329 - LAW AND GLOBALIZATION
- LAWS 331 - LAW AND DEVELOPMENT
- LAWS 355 - INTERNATIONAL LAW
- LAWS 360 - LAW OF WAR
- CRIMINAL JUSTICE:
- LAWS 203 - CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
- LAWS 212 - ISSUES IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE
- LAWS 213 - LAW ENFORCEMENT,CRIME & COMMUNITY
- LAWS 228 - CRIMINAL LAW
- LAWS 334 - JUVENILE JUSTICE
- LAWS 337 - CRIMINAL COURT PROCESS
- LAWS 347 - DEATH PENALTY IN AMERICA
- LAWS 348 - DRUGS, CRIME AND SOCIETY
- UPPER LEVEL COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
- LAWS 321 - FIELD STUDIES: LAW AND SOCIETY
- LAWS 421 - DIRECTED READINGS: LAW AND SOCIETY (Fall only)
- LAWS 431 - THESIS SUPERVISION: LAW AND SOCIETY (Spring only)
Note: A 2.0 GPA in the major is required for graduation.
General Education Requirements
Four Year Plan
Graduation Requirements
School of Social Science and Human Services Website
Faculty Profiles