SOCIOLOGY OF LAW

LEGALST/POLISCI 217

Introduction to the legal process. Examination of the various concepts of law, the perennial problems of the law, legal reasoning, and the nature and function of law and the courts.

LEGALST/SOC 131

Day-to-day functioning of the elements of the criminal justice system in the U.S. Nature of crime in the U.S., ideas about causes and solutions. Emphasis on the sociology of the components of criminal justice system--organization and roles of police, lawyers, court and correctional personnel.

LEGALST 407

Examines fundamental questions about the nature and content of law, addressing both analytic and normative jurisprudence. Questions in analytic jurisprudence include: What does it mean for something to be the law? Why are some things a matter of law, while others are not? What is the relationship between law and morality? Is the law exhausted by the meaning of words in constitutions and statutes? Questions of normative jurisprudence concern the proper content of law, such as, what should the law permit, prohibit, and promote? These questions are examined by looking at a number of topics that are at issue in U.S. (and other nations') laws. These will include interpreting criminal law statutes, policies promoting public welfare, and the justifications for property, especially intellectual property rights.

LEGALST 409

Introduction to the theory, the politics and the sociology of human rights. Main themes: international human rights legal regime, questions of why human rights have become "legalized," and what the consequences of this legalization are on the ground.

LEGALST 400

Addresses a variety of issues linking various social sciences perspectives to the central themes of law and legal institutions.