R1B: Equal Rights in a Changing Society – 1954 to the Present Bruce, 4 units, Area N/A
***This course is lower division and will not count towards the major.***
This course will examine three of the most important institutions in our lives (not necessarily in order of importance): school, work and family. We will read memoir and drama that recounts how individuals have experienced and understood changes to their legal rights within those institutions. To what extent have changes in the law been able to secure equality for members of minority groups? What kinds of costs have individuals borne in exchange for formal legal equality? To explore these questions, we will conduct a close examination of three case studies: school desegregation, women in the workplace, and the evolving legal status of same-sex marriage. In writing a series of essays, students will develop their ability to critically read and analyze the written word. A central focus of the course will be investigating the research process, and coursework will culminate in a research portfolio. ccn: 51502
39D: Current Political & Moral Conflicts & the Constitution Frosh/Soph Seminar, Pomerantz, 2 units, Area N/A
***This course is lower division and will not count towards the major.***
We will read several judicial opinions and seek to discover the ways in which courts use authority and craft law. ccn: 51503
103: Theories of Law & Society, Lieberman, 4 units, Area I or II
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: 51512
107: Theories of Justice, Song, 4 units, Area I
This course explores three fundamental questions about the idea of a just society and the place of the values of liberty and equality in such a society: (1)Which liberties must a just society protect? Liberty of expression? Sexual liberty? Economic liberty? Political liberty? (2) What sorts of equality should a just society ensure? Equality of opportunity? Of economic outcome? Political equality? Equality for different religious and cultural groups? (3)Can a society ensure both liberty and equality? Or are these opposing political values? We will approach these questions by examining answers to them provided by three contemporary theories of justice: utilitarianism, libertarianism, and egalitarian liberalism. To assess the strengths and weaknesses of these theories, we will discuss their implications for some topics of ongoing political controversy that exemplify our three fundamental questions about liberty and equality: the enforcement of sexual morality, financing schools and elections, regulating labor markets, affirmative action, and abortion. We will conclude by examining issues of global justice and human rights. ccn: 51527
132AC: Immigration & Citizenship, Volpp, 4 units, Area III
We often hear that America is a “nation of immigrants.” This representation of the U.S. does not explain why some are presumed to belong and others are not. We will examine both historical and contemporary law of immigration and citizenship to see how law has shaped national identity and the identity of immigrant communities. In addition to scholarly texts, we will learn to read and analyze excerpts of cases and the statute that governs immigration and citizenship, the Immigration and Nationality Act. ccn: 51542
14o: Property & Liberty, Brown, 4 units, Area I or III
The course will explore the relation between property law and limits of liberty in different cultures and at different times. The course will cover theories of property law, slavery, the clash between aboriginal and European ideas of property, gender roles and property rights, common property systems, zoning, regulatory takings, and property on the internet. Readings will include legal theorists, court cases, and historical case studies. ccn: 51557
145: Law & Economics I, McCrary/Talley, 4 units, Area I or III
This course uses the concepts and tools of economics to analyze problems in law, focusing on contracts, property, torts, and legal process. Students will be expected to apply the analysis to broad array of legal issues.
158: Law & Development, O’Connell, 4 units, Area II
Focusing on developing countries, this course considers the relationship between legal institutions and rules – including informal and traditional ones – and development – defined by different actors by economic growth, education, health, or a wide spectrum of freedoms. It examines efforts by national leaders, international organizations, foreign aid agencies, and NGOs to “reform” law to promote development, along with the resistance and unplanned consequences that often ensue. ccn: 51587
160: Punishment, Culture & Society Perry, 4 units, Area II or IV
This course surveys the development of Western penal practices, institutions, and ideas (what David Garland calls “penality”) from the eighteenth-century period to the present. Our primary focus will be on penal practices and discourses in United States in the early 21st century. In particular we will examine the extraordinary growth of US penal sanctions in the last quarter century and the sources and consequences of what some have called “mass imprisonment. ccn: 51602
161: Law in Chinese Society, Berring, 4 units, Area II
This course examines the legal system of China, from its cultural basis to the implications for modernization and China’s participation in the international community. Philosophy, drama, and art will be used to understand the culture and major historical periods which influenced China’s legal traditions and key concepts. The 20th century will be reviewed in some detail, including the Republic both on the mainland and on Taiwan, and the People’s Republic in both the Maoist and current eras, leading to examination of current legal practices in both Taiwan and mainland China. ccn: 51617
168: Sex, Reproduction & the Law, Hollinger, 4 units, Area III
Why and how does the State regulate sex, sexuality, and reproductive behavior? What are the personal and societal consequences of our technological capacity to separate sex from reproduction? A number of legal and social issues will be analyzed, including sterilization, access to contraception and abortion, adolescent sexuality and statutory rape, the legal status of fetuses and frozen embryos, and the parentage of children conceived through assisted reproduction. ccn: 51626
179: Comparative Constitutional Law, M. Shapiro, 4 units, Area II
An examination of constitutional decision making in a number of countries based on selected high court opinion. ccn: 51638
190.1: Law & Politics in the Early Modern Era, B. Shapiro, 4 units, Area II
This seminar will focus on the relationship between legal and political systems. The first portion of the seminar will focus on the early modern period, the latter on the development of the Anglo-American legal system and the formation of constitutions. ccn: 51683
190.2: History of Punishment, Lieberman, 3 units, Area II
The seminar will examine several leading programs for the reform and systematic overhaul of criminal punishment in the U.S. and western Europe during the period from the late-18th to the early-20th century. Readings will focus on the original presentations of these reform projects, rather than on contemporary scholarship in which they are discussed. A major area of attention is the emergence in the early-19th century of the penitentiary as the standard sanction for the treatment of the most serious crimes and to subsequent efforts to adapt imprisonment to new penal purposes. ccn: 51686
190.3: Youth, Justice & Culture, Musheno, 4 units, Area I or IV
The seminar challenges adult-centered representations of urban youth, their problems, and remedies to better their lives. It departs from mainstream criminology and developmental psychology in the ways youth are conceptualized and the methods employed to study youth. The seminar builds an alternative, youth-centered perspective, exploring what it means to put youth perspectives at the center of socio-legal inquiry. It illuminates the conceptual frames, methodological tools, and substantive findings that come to the front when the focus is on how youth make sense of their own lives, assert their own views of justice and law, and act on one another. Particular attention is given to youth conflict, peer relations, identity building, claims on space and territory, the salience of law and rights, and adaptations to adult authorities and practices in the contexts of urban neighborhoods and public schools. ccn: 51689
190.4: Intro to Legal Studies, Perry, 4 units, Area I or III
Description TBA ccn: 51692
190.6: American Law & the Constitutional Order, Scheiber, 3 units, Area II
This seminar will meet weekly for discussion of common readings by historians, political scientists, and legal scholars on selected subjects in American legal and constitutional development. Lecture segments by the course instructor and occasional invited guest experts will occupy part of each class hour.
Subjects will include the colonial legal heritage, the Revolution and “original intent” in formation of the Republic, democratization and sectionalism before the Civil War, and America’s industrialization and the emergence of a regulatory state. Readings will also center on Progressive-era and New Deal reform, wartime emergencies and the Constitution, and civil liberties and civil rights in the modern era.
There will be a midterm exam 10th week that will cover the course’s common readings; and a term paper on a topic of special interest to the individual student – due the last week of class. ccn: 51697
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 and a 3.0 UC GPA. 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 Undergraduate Advisor for the requisite form. Note: LS 199 can only be taken P/NP, but it is applicable towards the 32 upper division units in the major.
H195A: Honors Thesis, 4 units, Letter-graded
Legal Studies seniors with a 3.5 GPA in the major, and an overall UC GPA of 3.3 are eligible for the Legal Studies Honors Program and, if they successfully complete it, will graduate with honors in Legal Studies. Honors students must enroll in LS 198, the honors seminar, offered in the fall prior, and complete a substantial research paper under the supervision of a Legal Studies faculty member during the Spring semester. Students are assigned a letter grade as well as a level of honors upon graduation. The level of honors is determined by the supervising faculty member based on the student’s final grade point average in the major and on the quality of the completed honors thesis. Interested students should contact the Undergraduate Advisor for details and forms.