Spring 2027

Introduction to Law and Humanities

Introduction to Law and Humanities examines how legal systems interact with cultural, historical, and philosophical contexts through literature, film, and philosophy.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Charlotte Whatley

Summary

What you’ll be able to do

  • Explain key concepts and historical developments in law and the humanities, and how they have influenced each other over time.

  • Analyze legal texts, literature, film, and art to understand how legal norms, values, and power structures are represented, challenged, or reinforced.

  • Compare and contrast philosophical, ethical, and cultural approaches to justice, rights, and law as expressed across diverse humanistic traditions.

  • Interpret the role of narrative and storytelling in shaping legal identity, authority, and legitimacy.

  • Demonstrate interdisciplinary research skills by engaging with primary and secondary sources from law, philosophy, literature, and history.

  • Develop and defend original arguments about legal and humanistic issues in written and oral formats, showing clarity, coherence, and critical insight.

  • Reflect on the ethical implications of legal decisions and systems as viewed through multiple humanistic perspectives.

  • Collaborate effectively in discussions and group projects that explore complex intersections between law and culture.

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

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letter grades

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Prerequisites

Course map

None

  • None
LEGALST 213

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Prerequisite text tree
  • None

Professors

Spring 2027
Historical instructors & teaching patterns

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Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

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SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 1000

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Student experience

the class

Introduction to the dynamic relationship between law and the humanities, examining how legal systems both shape and are shaped by cultural, historical, and philosophical contexts. Through the study of literature, philosophy, history, pop culture, religious studies, and the arts, critically engage with the fundamental question of what law is and reframe legal concepts such as justice, rights, authority, and morality. Engage in the discussion of representative works of the discipline, different methodologies, and the ideas of key thinkers to highlight the humanistic dimensions of law. By analyzing court cases, historical sources, fiction, films, and philosophical writings, develop a deeper understanding of how law functions, how it tells stories, and how law is not only as a set of rules but a cultural and moral artifact.

difficulty & workload

No workload feedback recorded.

Topics

  • Justice, rights, authority, and morality.
  • Narrative and storytelling in legal identity.
  • Literature, philosophy, history, pop culture, religious studies, and the arts.

Skills

  • Interdisciplinary research using primary and secondary sources from law, philosophy, literature, and history.
  • Developing and defending original arguments in written and oral formats.
  • Collaborating in discussions and group projects exploring law and culture.

Grades

Instructor

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Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

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Catalog observation history

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Selected offering source records
LEGALST 213 · Spring 2027

Introduction to Law and Humanities

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
[
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:535:027274",
    "course_id": "LEGALST 213",
    "course_uid": "course_a7e362cf9372d3e1d201d894",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "027274",
    "source_subject_id": "535",
    "title": "Introduction to Law and Humanities",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Not Applicable"
  }
]
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Madgrades

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Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
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Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

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Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "6b8b9405481de3bbc0a168688e03bbc4fb3639307c40d281ebad86a971bf359a",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}