Course Catalog

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INTRO. TO HISTORY, LAW & SOCIETY (LW2030)

What role does law play in shaping society? How have courts shaped society, both domestically and internationally? What strategies have people taken to resist unjust laws? Students engage in weekly moot courts that survey gripping historical and contemporary cases, including fugitive slave laws, the death penalty and criminal justice, hate speech, transgender rights, and issues relating to immigration, including asylum and deportation. Readings come from history, literature, sociology, and legal opinions. By the end of this course, students will be able to apply critical approaches to the law to contemporary issues; perform a mock trial, from start to finish; and write persuasive and analytically rigorous papers that demonstrate interdisciplinary thinking.

This course fulfills the GE 110 requirement.

GENDER, LAW, AND IDENTITY (LW3022)

Will investigate the various ways in which gendered norms of identity are defined, constructed, enforced, managed and even adjudicated through the narratives that inform and produce our social and legal realties. Class readings will include works by Judith Butler, Wendy Brown, Drucilla Cornell, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Nancy Fraser, Michel Foucault, Angela Harris, Nivedita Menon, and Denise da Silva, among others.

INTERNAT'L HUMAN RIGHTS LAW (LW3041)

International human rights law established the norms, jurisprudence and legal infrastructure necessary to promote the implementation of international human rights standards. This course introduces key substantive and institutional issues and explores the establishment of standards, international human rights treaties, their implementation mechanisms and the expanding body of jurisprudence that make up this discipline at the crossroads of law and development.

INTERNATIONAL LAW (LW3061)

Covers the formal structure of the international legal order; sources, uses and dynamics of law in international relations; use of force, war crimes; the status and functions of states, governments, international organizations, companies, and individuals; law of the sea, environment, jurisdiction, aliens, human rights, the diplomatic process and its protection, and treaties. Discusses theory and future directions of international law. This course is crosslisted with Politics.

LEGAL ENVIRONMENT OF BUSINESS (LW3075)

Students will examine the legal process and the legal environment within which business must operate, as well as the interrelationship of government and business. Students develop an understanding of the methods by which legal decisions are formulated as they affect both individual rights and business transactions.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS LAW (LW3084)

Briefly examines the great legal families in the world: Common Law, Civil Law, Socialist Law, and Islamic Law. Within the Civil Law family, emphasizes French Contract Law and then explores the law of the European Union. Studies the legal aspects of international business transactions and uses major international and European projects to examine the principles discussed.

TOPICS (LW3091)

Courses on different topics in the discipline, enriching the present course offerings. These classes are taught by permanent or visiting faculty. Topics vary each semester.”

TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE (LW4040)

This class critically examines the phenomenon of transitional justice, surveying the methods used, the problems inherent therein, and the assumptions underlying the application of transitional justice tools.
The course will offer an optional trip to Bosnia and Serbia over spring break to meet with institutions working towards reconciliation and rule of law in those countries.