R1B.1: Equal Rights in a Changing Society: 1954 to the Present, Bruce, TTh 12:30- 2:00pm, 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: Legal Rights, Science & Society, Berk, TTh 2-3:30pm, 4 units, Area N/A
**This course is lower division and will not count towards the major.**
This course will explore the relationship between law, science and society, with a focus on fundamental constitutional rights. Core legal principles like privacy, consent, bodily integrity, and identity will be closely examined in the context of three contemporary case studies: reproductive technology and surrogacy, exoneration of criminals through DNA testing, and the use of human cells in medical research. We will read historic narrative, memoir, and scholarly essay in order to thoughtfully consider areas of tension between technological developments and legal rights. Public policy debates concerning appropriate regulation of these practices, including expert testimony presented to courts, will supplement personal accounts. They will also serve as models to assist the class in developing critical reading, analysis, and writing skills. A central focus of the course will be investigating the research process.
39D: Current Political & Moral Conflicts & the Constitution Frosh/Soph Seminar, Pomerantz, M 10-12:00am, 2 units, Area N/A
**This course is lower division and does 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.
100: Foundations of Legal Studies (the ‘A’ has been dropped from 100A) Perry, TTh 12:30- 2:00pm, 4 units, Area I or II or III
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
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, 9-10am, 4 units, 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.
132AC: Immigration & Citizenship, Volpp, TTh 2- 3:30pm, 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.
139: Comparative Perspectives on Norms & Legal Traditions, Mayali, MWF 9-10am, 4 units, Area II
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, TTh 11-12:30, 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.
145: Law & Economics I, McCrary/Talley, TTh 3:30pm 5:00pm, 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, MWF 1:00-2:00pm, 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.
160: Punishment, Culture & Society, Simon, TTh 2:00- 3:30pm, 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.
161: Law in Chinese Society, Berring, TTh 9:30-11:00am, 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.
168: Sex, Reproduction & the Law, Hollinger, TTh 9:30 – 11:00am, 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.
179: Comparative Constitutional Law, M. Shapiro, MWF 10-11am, 4 units, Area II
An examination of constitutional decision making in a number of countries based on selected high court opinion.
190.1: The Psychology of Diversity & Discrimination in American Law, Plaut, M 3-6:00pm, 4 units, Area I
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.
190.2: Comparative Constitutional Law: The Case of Isreal, Beinisch, MW 4-5:30pm, 4 units, Area II
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
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
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.