The law, one of the most significant institutions in the life of any society, is an important subject of study for all students--especially so in the United States, where our lives are so critically affected by the legal system, and where citizen knowledge and participation are vitally needed.
The law also represents a body of ideas, values, and functions of serious concern to scholars in the various fields of the social sciences and humanities. The Legal Studies Program (minor) is interdisciplinary, designed to offer students the opportunity of studying law not as a subject of professional practice, but as one worthy of liberal inquiry. It examines law from many perspectives: historical, anthropological, sociological, philosophical, political, economic, psychological, and literary.
Through classroom courses and internships in public-service law, the minor combines "real world" experiential education with academic methods and insights. Students considering careers in law may find the minor a useful way to test their interest in working with legal materials, but the minor is not intended as a preprofessional course of study. Individual courses are open to all Brandeis students.
The Legal Studies Program examines the role of law in broad aspects of social life: the public policy process, economic development, and cultural expression. Legal Studies courses give students an opportunity to explore, in depth, such fields as international and comparative law, sex discrimination, civil liberties, and environmental safety.