Course Details:
103: Theories of Law & Society Lieberman
MWF 11am-12pm 115 Kroeber 4 units Area I or II (101) Tuesday, 2-3pm, 205 Dwinelle (102) Tuesday, 11am-12pm, 115 Kroeber (103) Wednesday, 3-4pm, 101 Wurster (104) Wednesday, 1-2pm, 105 Dwinelle
Surveys leading attempts to construct social theories of law and to use legal materials for systematic social theorizing, during the period from the mid-eighteenth century to the early twentieth century. The course considers major discussions of such themes as the relationships between law, politics, society and economy; the connection between historical change and legal change; the role of law in the processes of social integration and social discipline; and the distinctive elements of legal ordering in the modern west. ccn: 51503
105: Foundations of Criminal Law Dan-Cohen
TuTh 1-2pm 120 Latimer 3 units Area I or III(101) Monday, 9-10am, 115 Kroeber (102) Monday, 4-5pm, 258 Dwinelle (103) Wednesday, 8-9am, 78 Barrows (104) Wednesday, 9-10am, B56 Hildebrand
Perhaps more than any other legal area, criminal law raises fundamental theoretical issues that have occupied philosophers over the years. This is not surprising in light of the obvious proximity between the enterprise of using state coercion to punish the guilty on the one hand and central concerns of moral and political philosophy on the other. In the course we’ll discuss a selection of articles that bring to bear such a philosophical perspective on important aspects of criminal law. The topics include the justification of punishment, the foundations of blame and responsibility, the substantive values protected by criminal law, the significance of actual harm, the liability of groups and other collectivities, and the virtues and limits of the rule of law. ccn: 51518
116: Legal Discourse, 1500-1700 B. Shapiro
TuTh 2-3:30pm 151 Barrows 4 units Area I or II(101) Monday, 4-5pm, 259 Dwinelle (102) Monday, 2-3pm, 250 Dwinelle
The course focuses on the history of legal thought and discourse from the late medieval period to the Enlightenment. Topics to be considered include the relationship between legal thought and intellectual developments and the relationship between political and constitutional developments and legal discourse. Although the emphasis is on England, there will be some consideration of differences between English and continental European legal thought. ccn: 51533
147: Law & Economics II Ingberman
TTh 4-5:30pm 50 Birge 4 units Area I or III(101) Wednesday, 1-2pm, 101 Wurster (102) Wednesday 2-3pm 101 Wurster (103) Monday, 4-5pm, 105 Dwinelle (104) Wednesday 11-12, 115 Kroeber
Microeconomic theory will be applied to government and regulation. Topics include the economic analysis of constitutional law, administrative law, regulation, corporations, and environmental law. To illustrate, the behavior of legislators who want to maximize the votes that they receive will be described and predicted. Similarly, the behavior of regulatory agencies who seek to maximize their own budgets will be predicted. The best forms of regulation will be identified assuming that parties subject to it minimize the cost of compliance, as when corporations try to satisfy environmental controls at least cost. Law & Economics I (LS 145) is not a prerequisite. ccn: 51557
151: Law, Self & Society Dan-Cohen
MW 4-5pm 106 Stanley 3 units Area I(101) Monday, 8-9am, 2062 VLSB (102) Monday, 10-11am, 221 Wheeler (103) Wednesday, 3-4pm, 222 Wheeler (104) Wednesday, 1-2pm, 2305 Tolman
Contemporary moral and political philosophy has been increasingly interested in how conceptions of the self relate to various aspects of our social and political life. These issues have an important bearing on legal theory as well. Law is shaped by certain implicit assumptions about the nature of individuals and collectivities, while it also actively participates in forming the identities of persons and in structuring collective entities such as families, corporations, and municipalities. This course will explore some theoretical approaches to this reciprocal relationship between law and the different social actors that it governs. ccn: 51572
155: Government & the Family Hollinger
TuTh 11am-12:30pm 50 Birge 4 units Area III, IV (101) Monday, 4-5pm, 2062 VLSB (102) Monday, 3-4, 51 Evans (103) Wednesday, 2-3pm, 80 Barrows (104) Wendesday, 12-1pm, 39 Evans
How has the law constructed and deconstructed “family” relationships? What are the common law, statutory, and constitutional principles that affect the formation, regulation, and dissolution of families? How do these principles, as well as diverse cultural and social values, guide the State in determining who may or may not marry, who may or may not become a legal parent, and the circumstances that justify State intervention in otherwise private and autonomous families to protect children against neglect or abuse? Should children have legal “rights” and, if so, to what and against whom? Special attention is given to the laws, policies, and current debates concerning marriage and domestic partnerships, child custody and adoption, and the public child welfare system. These issues are explored through a variety of readings in the law and the social sciences. ccn: 51587
177: American Legal & Constitutional History McClain
MW 4-5:30pm 3 LeConte 4 units Area II(101) Monday, 2-3pm, 80 Barrows (102) Monday, 1-2pm, 2062 VLSB (103) Wednesday, 2-3pm, 78 Barrows (104) Wednesday, 3-4pm, 78 Barrows
This course explores the history of American legal institutions and doctrine from colonial times to the present. It deals both with the history of American constitutional law (through the study of major U.S. Supreme Court opinions) and with the development of certain important bodies of non-constitutional law, such as the law of property, the law of torts (civil wrongs), and criminal law. In exploring how American law has developed over time the course may serve as something of an introduction to our current legal and constitutional order. ccn: 51617
179: Comparative Constitutional Law M. Shapiro
TTh 2-3:30pm 60 Evans 4 units Area II(101) Tuesday, 10-11am, 224 Wheeler (102) Tuesday, 11am-12pm, 111 Kroeber (103) Thursday, 1-2pm, 259 Dwinelle (104) Thursday, 11am-12pm, 115 Kroeber
An examination of constitutional decision making in a number of countries based on selected high court opinion. ccn: 51632
184: Sociology of Law Albiston
TTh 11am-12:30pm 50 Birge 4 units Area III or IV(101) Monday, 1-2pm, 105 Dwinelle (102) Monday, 2-3pm, 106 Dwinelle (103) Wednesday, 8-9am, 50 Barrows (104) Wednesday, 9-10am, 50 Barrows
This introductory course explores major issues and debates in the sociology of law. Topics include theoretical perspectives on the relationship between law and society, theories of why people obey (and disobey) the law, the relationship between law and social norms, the “law in action” in litigation and dispute resolution, the roles of lawyers, judges, and juries in the legal system and in society, and the role of law in social change. The course will examine these issues from an empirical perspective. ccn: 51647
189: Feminist Jurisprudence Abrams
TuTh 9:30-11am 126 Barrows 4 units Area I(101)Monday, 11am-12pm, 115 Kroeber (102) Monday, 10-11am, 115 Kroeber (103) Thursday, 8-9am, 115 Kroeber (104) Thursday, 1-2pm, 115 Kroeber
This course will explore the ways in which feminist theory has shaped conceptions of the law, as both an influence contributing to sex and gender inequality, and a vehicle for its amelioration. The course will examine a range of feminist legal theories, including equality, difference, dominance, intersectional, poststructural, postcolonial theories. It will ask how these theories have shaped legal interventions in areas including workplace/educational access, sexualized coercion, work/family conflict, cultural defenses, and globalized sweatshop labor. It will also consider how epistemological challenges that emerged from feminist theory in other disciplines shaped challenges to objectivist epistemology in law. ccn: 51662
190.1: Law, Politics & Literature M. Shapiro
Th 4-7pm 155 Kroeber 4 units Area IIThis course will examine some key issues of politics through the close reading of a number of literary works. ccn: 51677
190.2: Legal Theory Dan-Cohen
MW 12-2pm 115 Kroeber 3 units Area I
In this seminar we’ll discuss a number of texts that cover a wide range of issues in the theory of law. Roughly speaking, they fall into two main categories. Some of the readings look at law from the outside, posing the question, what is law and what is the source of its authority? The answers proposed concern the distinction between natural law and positivism, and the relationship between law and morality. The other set of readings adopt an internal perspective, focusing primarily on theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of substantive legal issues. The aim is to identify salient ideas and values that shape legal discourse and inform legal policy. Enrollment is restricted.
To receive permission to enroll, email Professor Dan-Cohen (dan-cohen@law.berkeley.edu) and include your major, any philosophy coursework you’ve done, and a short statement of interest in the course. He will email you back with either a Class Entry Code that allows you to register via TeleBEARS, or a message to put yourself on the waitlist. If you are instructed to put yourself on the waitlist, you will be notified during the first class meeting if you will be admitted into the course.
198: Honors Seminar Simon W 8-10am
Students contemplating an Honors thesis must enroll in LS 198 in the Fall of their senior year, which is aimed specifically at preparing them for the task. The seminar will cover such important subjects as selecting a thesis topic that is both interesting and capable of investigation within the limits of a single semester, developing and implementing an effective research strategy, and completing the writing. UCB GPA 3.3 Legal Studies GPA 3.5 required.During the following Spring semester, students who continue with the Honors Program will complete a substantial research paper under the supervision of a faculty member.For more information or to obtain a Course Entry Code, please contact Lauri, the Undergraduate Advisor. Wed 8-10 am 115 Kroeber ccn: 51569
199: Independent Study 1-4 units P/NP
Legal Studies 199 is open to officially declared Legal Studies Seniors with a 3.0 GPA in the major. Independent study is a research paper the student produces under the direction of a faculty member. In order to enroll, the student must develop a proposal and find a Legal Studies faculty member who is willing to serve as director. Ideally, the student should have already taken at least one course from the faculty member in the area which s/he wishes to research. The student should submit a written proposal to the faculty member outlining the scope and length of the research project s/he would like to do. A general guideline is one unit of credit per ten pages of text in the final research paper, up to a maximum of four units. The consent of the supervising faculty member should be secured prior to the first week of the semester. Once a student has secured faculty permission, the student should see the Lauri for the requisite form. Note: LS 199 is P/NP only, but will count towards the 32 upper div units for the major.