R1B: Racial Identity & the Law, Bruce, MWF 11am-12pm, 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.
R1B.2: Critical Perspectives on Human Rights, Painter, TTh 8-9:30am, 4 units, Area N/A
**This course is lower division and will not count towards the major.**
A generation of human rights activists came of age through writing. Human rights have become the dominant frame for thinking about social justice, and the path to achieve human rights is paved with written words. For example, Amnesty International coalesced into a social movement by asking people to write letters to prisoners of conscience. The solution to justice problems is often seen to be new rights, better enforced rights, or both. In this course, we will study and question the received wisdom about the role of human rights in struggles for emancipation. We will pair theoretical readings about human rights with case studies, including on gender equality, indigenous self-determination, genocide, climate change, and mass incarceration. We will focus our study on the role of writing in human rights activism. We will learn about and practice various modes of human rights writing, including the press release, persuasive email, op-ed, blog post, briefing statement, speech, and academic research paper. Based on our study of research and writing about rights, students will develop their own writing projects.
39D: Current Political & Moral Conflicts & the Constitution Frosh/Soph Seminar, Pomerantz, M 10am-12:00pm, 2 units, Area N/A
**This course is lower division and will not count towards the major.**
We will read Supreme Court cases, as well as political and legal commentary from across the political spectrum, and consider not only the opinions of the Justices, but also why they hold those opinions. We will seek to discover the way in which courts use authority and craft law.
100: Foundations of Legal Studies, Perry, MWF 3- 4pm, 4 units, Area I or II or III (New Plan: Core)
This is a liberal arts course designed to introduce students to the foundational frameworks and cross-disciplinary perspectives from humanities and social sciences that distinguish legal studies as a scholarly field. It provides a comparative and historical intro to forms, ideas, institutions, and systems of law and sociological ordering. It highlights basic theoretical problems and scholarly methods for understanding questions of law and justice.
102: Policing and Society, Musheno, TTh 11am- 12:30pm, 4 units, Area IV (New Plan: Area I)
This course examines the American social institution of policing with particular emphasis on urban law enforcement. It explores the social, economic and cultural forces that pull policing in the direction of state legal authority and power as well as those that are a counter-weight to the concentration of policing powers in the state. Special attention is given to how policing shapes and is shaped by the urban landscape, legal to cultural.
103: Theories of Law & Society, Lieberman, MWF, 11am-12pm, 4 units, I or II (New Plan: Core or Area 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.
132AC: Immigration & Citizenship, Volpp, TTh 2- 3:30pm, 4 units, Area III (New Plan: II or IV)
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.
138: The Supreme Court & Public Policy, Quinn, TTh 12:30-2pm, 4 units, Area III or IV (New Plan: Core or IV or V)
An analysis of the policy consequences of Supreme Court decisions. Particular attention will be paid to to the Court’s interaction with other branches of government and the mass public.
139: Comparative Perspectives on Norms & Legal Traditions, Mayali, MWF 9-10am, 4 units, Area II (New Plan: Area V)
This course is an introduction to the comparative study of different legal cultures and traditions including common law, civil law, socialist law and religious law. A section of the class will be dedicated to the comparison of the colonial and post-colonial legal process in Latin America and in Africa.
140: Property & Liberty, Brown, MWF 1-2:00pm, 4 units, Area I or III (New Plan: Area II 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.
158: Law & Development, O’Connell, MWF 2:00-3:30pm, 4 units, Area II (New Plan: Area III or IV)
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.
160: Punishment, Culture & Society, Simon, TTh 8:00- 9:30am, 4 units, Area II or IV (New Plan: Core or Area I or II)
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.
161: Law in Chinese Society, Berring, TTh 11:00am-12:30pm, 4 units, Area II (New Plan: 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.
168: Sex, Reproduction & the Law, Hollinger, TTh 9:30 – 11:00am, 4 units, Area III (New Plan: Area II)
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.
178: American Legal & Constitutional History Seminar McClain, Tu 2-4pm, 3 units, Area II (New Plan: Area V)
The course has two purposes: to explore in depth selected topics in American legal and constitutional history, and to help students improve their research and writing skills. Students are required to participate in class discussions and to write a substantial research paper. Preference may be given to students who have taken LS 176, LS 177, or have had other significant exposure to American legal or constitutional history.
179: Comparative Constitutional Law, M. Shapiro, MWF 10-11am, 4 units, Area II (New Plan: Area V)
An examination of constitutional decision making in a number of countries based on selected high court opinion.
183: The Psychology of Diversity & Discrimination in American Law, Plaut, M 2-5:00pm, 4 units, Area I (New Plan: Area II or IV)
How does the psychology of culture, race, and ethnicity shape the legal pursuit of diversity and equal treatment? How are Americans thinking about and doing diversity in their everyday lives? What are the predominant perspectives on diversity and how are they being deployed or challenged in legal battles over race-conscious policies? What are the implications for efforts to remedy historic intergroup conflict and discrimination? These will be the central questions of this course. We will examine concepts of race and culture, various understandings of and approaches to diversity found in the law, and the role of sociocultural structures in shaping the operation of anti-discrimination law and social policy. Special attention will be given to the use of diversity-related psychological research in law. Some topics include: cultural psychology and cultural defense; psychology of desegregation; psychology of colorblindness and equal protection; psychology of “critical mass” and affirmative action; stereotyping, intent, and discrimination; cultural differences in attraction and implications for discrimination; psychology of sexism in the workplace; psychology of social class and poverty; psychology of disability and disability discrimination.
190.1: Basic Legal Values, Dan-Cohen, Tu 12-2pm, 3 units, Area I (New Plan: Area II)
Although everyone agrees that law promotes some values, what these values are is often unclear and controversial. This is increasingly the case the more we come to recognize cultural diversity and moral pluralism faced by the law. In this seminar we will examine a number of values that have been advanced within the liberal tradition, such as well-being, autonomy, and dignity, and consider their potential role in shaping or explaining a wide range of legal disputes. The seminar will divide into two parts. In the first, we’ll get acquainted with these values in the context of the two main strands in liberal moral theory – utilitarianism and Kantianism – and consider some general issues concerning the meaning of these values and their interrelationships. The second part will consist of student presentations on specific substantive topics in which the general issues discussed in the first part arise. Enrollment is restricted.
190.2: History of Punishment, Lieberman, W 5-7pm 3 units, Area II (New Plan: Area I)
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.
190.3: Comparative Constitutional Law: The Case of Isreal, Medina, TTh 9:30-11pm, 4 units, Area II (New Plan: Area IV or V)
The seminar will provide an introduction to the comparative study of constitutional law through the lens of Israeli constitutional jurisprudence – a jurisprudence built explicitly on the foundations of a variety of other constitutional systems, reflecting the diversity of approaches to constitutionalism. Through this comparative framework students will learn basic constitutional theory as well as explore some of the major constitutional debates in Israeli contemporary law. The constitutional theory part of the course will discuss the formation of Israeli constitution in comparison with the structure of other constitutions such as the U.S. Constitution and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This framework will introduce the central notions of constitutionalism – the ideas that that constitutions can (and should) limit government; the role of the judiciary in interpreting and enforcing the constitution; and the importance of constitutional rights. Among the constitutional debates that the class will explore are topics such as freedom of expression and freedom of association, equality, the right of human dignity, due process, social rights, freedom of occupation, freedom of religion etc. These topics will also be looked at from a comparative perspective drawing upon different constitutional regimes such as the Canadian Charter and the constitution of South Africa.
199: Independent Study 1-4 units, P/NP (New Plan: 4 units of 199 can count towards one distribution requirement under the Area of your choosing.)
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.
H195 B: Honors Thesis 4 units (New Plan: H195B thesis can count towards one distribution requirement under the Area of your choosing.)
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 first enroll in LS H195A, the honors seminar, offered in the fall prior, and complete a substantial research paper under the supervision of a Legal Studies faculty member. Students are assigned a letter grade as well as a level of honors upon graduation. The level of honors is determined by the Program 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.