Provisional University Bulletin (2025-2026)

• Minor

The role of legal studies in a liberal arts curriculum was admirably stated by our University's namesake, Louis Dembitz Brandeis, who wrote, near the end of his career,

The study of law should be introduced as part of a liberal education, to train and enrich the mind...I am convinced of that, like history, economics, and metaphysics – and perhaps even to a greater degree than these – the law could be advantageously studied with a view to the general development of the mind.

The Legal Studies Program takes up this pedagogical challenge from Justice Brandeis. For over four decades, our mission has been to advance the understanding of law throughout the liberal arts community:

• by developing critical and creative skills to "enrich the mind,"
• by exploring knowledge of legal issues that arise in diverse fields of study, and
• by offering concrete ways for liberal education to engage social justice issues.

As an interdepartmental program, Legal Studies considers problems and perspectives that reach across most academic disciplines and practical fields taught at Brandeis. We present law in a broad context of history, economics, politics, philosophy, literature, and the sciences; and we trace law's impact within the fields of health, business, environment, and creative arts. The scope of legal concerns ranges from the local (states and communities), to the national, and to the global (regions and international bodies). Our program does not provide professional legal training. Rather we give undergraduates access to a venerable field of human expression, where rigorous learning combines with reflective practice. Our learning goals apply not just to students completing the Legal Studies minor, but also to the larger number of students who take one or more courses (all open without prerequisite). Understanding how law works should also help guide students in choosing professional careers, and also in forming lives of responsible citizenship.

In the Legal Studies program, the main University learning goals are tightly interwoven. To invoke Justice Brandeis' core insight, learning about the law improves analytical skills. In dynamic terms, the creative elements in legal knowledge challenge conventions and require public improvement; just as legal problem-solving points back to the refinement of social and humanistic principles. The close integration of legal knowledge and skills provides a concrete framework for social advocacy, bringing real-life justice concerns to the center of liberal inquiry.

Brandeis University's learning goals ask students to "follow the example of Justice Brandeis." Legal Studies courses provide some focus for this goal, including a course devoted to Justice Brandeis' legal career and social philosophy, interpreted in the context of his times. Students in such courses develop a critical sense of what it means to "follow his example" as a formula for the pursuit of social justice. The Legal Studies Program draws its own inspiration from Justice Brandeis' pedagogical example, starting from his belief that the study of law can enrich the pursuit of a liberal arts education.

Core Skills

1. Through the elaboration of legal arguments, students develop increasing clarity in written and oral communication, subject to the demands of social persuasion and institutional scrutiny.
2. Through practice in applied argumentation, students learn how to mobilize (and to critique) the use of quantitative information in the common search for factual truth and effective public policy.
3. Through analyzing and building legal arguments in a variety of social and cultural contexts, students gain facility in systematic critique and self-reflection about norms.

Knowledge

1. Through exploring the history, diversity, and dynamics of legal systems, students supplement their disciplinary studies with attention to public actions and norms.
2. Through close analysis of legal case studies, students learn to integrate knowledge of social problems with strategic alternatives for action.
3. Through examining tensions within legal principles and institutions, students use knowledge to explore the effectiveness of action strategies in pursuit of justice.

Social Justice

1. Through rigorous application of skills and knowledge to legal problems, students develop an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of public advocacy and persuasion.
2. Students learn to put their commitments to social justice to the test of adversarial debate and judicial determination.
3. In every aspect of their study of law, students learn to articulate the aspirations for human improvement that emerge from creative legal thinking.

Undergrads may declare a minor in Legal Studies by filling out a Declaration Form, contacting the program administrator in the Legal Studies office, or meeting with Prof. Dan Breen, Undergraduate Advising Head (UAH).

Students who complete the requirements for the minor receive certificates from the Legal Studies program and a notation on their official transcripts.

Students do not need to declare a Minor in Legal Studies to take Legal Studies courses with the exception of LGLS 89a Law and Society Internship and Seminar.

Rosalind Kabrhel, Chair
Criminal justice policy and reform. Juvenile justice. Civil litigation.

Daniel Breen, Undergraduate Advising Head
Civil liberties. Business and technology. Legal history.

Sarah Curi
American health law and policy, public health,  patient rights and ethics.

Ariel Ludwig, Florence Levy Kay Post-Doctoral Fellow in Machine Learning, Law, and Racial Justice
Mass incarceration, surveillance studies, health studies, artificial intelligence, and abolitionist science studies.

Melissa McKenna
Manager of internship and community engagement activities.  Legal services, family law and education law.

Charlotte Powley
ENACT research. Social Policy. Gender, justice, and legislation.

Doug Smith
Immigration and asylum law. Forced migration clinic.

Melissa Stimell, Director, ENACT
Legislative advocacy. International criminal law. Social welfare law. Conflict resolution.

Tanishia Lavette Williams, Florence Levy Kay Post-Doctoral Fellow in Racial Justice, Education, and the Carceral State
Culturally responsive pedagogy. Intersections of education. Racial stratification and policy.

Affiliated Faculty (contributing to the curriculum, advising and administration of the department or program)
Anita Hill (Heller)
Chandler Rosenberger (International and Global Studies)
Michael Willrich (History)
Peter Woll (Politics)

1. Core course: LGLS 10a (Introduction to Law), preferably no later than the student's junior year.
2. One LGLS 100 or higher course or cross-listed course (AMST 60a, AMST 188b, PHIL 13b, and all IGS/LGLS courses).
3. Three additional LGLS courses, cross-listed courses or electives (see list below), excluding LGLS 45a. If students choose to fulfill this requirement with three elective courses, no more than two can be from the same department or program.
4. An internship (LGLS 89a) arranged through the LGLS office. For this requirement, students may substitute one of the following:
   1. A senior thesis in the student's major, supervised by the major department, which includes some aspect of law (requires prior approval of LGLS Undergraduate Advising Head).
   2. LGLS 126a or LGLS 161b. If used as a substitute for the internship, the course may not also be counted toward requirement B. above.
   3. LGLS 98a or LGLS 98b.
5. No course for which a student receives a grade below a C-, nor any course taken pass/fail, may be counted toward the minor.

LGLS 10a Introduction to Law
[ oc ss ]

Surveys the nature, process, and institutions of law: the reasoning of lawyers and judges, the interplay of cases and policies, the impact of history and culture, and the ideals of justice and responsibility in a global context. Usually offered every fall.

LGLS 89a Law and Society Internship and Seminar
[ oc wi ]

Prerequisites: LGLS 10a and one additional LGLS course. To obtain an internship, students must discuss their placements with the LGLS internship director by April 15 for fall term internships or by November 15 for spring term internships. This course may not be repeated for credit.

Course consists of regular class meetings, a supervised law-related internship in a public agency or nonprofit organization, and a related research paper. Students must work between 10 and 15 hours per week at their internship placement site. Examples of internship activities include investigating discrimination cases, negotiating between consumers and small business, and attending criminal and family courts. Internships are arranged in consultation with the Internship Director and the Program Administrator for Legal Studies. Usually offered every semester.

LGLS 98a Independent Research

Usually offered every year.

LGLS 98b Independent Research

Yields half-course credit. Usually offered every year.

AMST/LGLS 140b Investigating Justice
[ deis-us ss ]

Examines methods used by journalists and other investigators in addressing injustices within criminal and civil legal systems. Problems include wrongful convictions, civil rights, privacy protection, and ethical conflicts. Research methods and reporting techniques enhance skills in interviewing, writing, and oral presentation. Usually offered every second year.

AMST/LGLS 141b Juvenile Justice: From Cradle to Custody
[ deis-us djw ss ]

After an overview of the basics of juvenile justice in the United States, this course examines the realities and remedies for the cradle-to-prison pipeline, analyzing this pattern from the perspectives of law, society, and economics, tracing the child's experience along that path, and exploring creative public solutions. Usually offered every second year.

HIST 161b American Political History
[ deis-us ss ]

Development of American party politics, the legal system, and government. Special attention paid to the social and cultural determinants of party politics, and economic and social policymaking. Usually offered every second year.

IGS/LGLS 128b Networks of Global Justice
[ ss ]

Examines how global justice is actively shaped by dynamic institutions, contested ideas, and evolving cultures. Using liberal arts methods, the course explores prospects for advancing peace and justice in a complex world. It is organized around case studies of humanitarian crises, involving health, poverty, migration, and peace-building across nations. Usually offered every third year.

LGLS 110a The War on Drugs or the War on Us?
[ deis-us ss ]

A rigorous course that enables students to foster a deep understanding of the challenges of administering justice in a democratic society. Far from the typical lecture-based experience, this course will be conducted more like a series of hands-on workshops designed to have students learn by actively doing as opposed to passively listening. Students will do this by studying contemporary jurisprudence, formulating their own philosophy of how justice should be administered, and applying their own philosophy to real criminal cases. Usually offered every third year.

LGLS 114a American Health Care: Law and Policy
[ deis-us ss ]

Sophomore standing or higher.

This interdisciplinary seminar focuses on individual rights. Highlights how our laws and policies affect American health care. Traces the evolution of the doctor-patient relationship; explores access issues, including whether health care is or should be a fundamental right; assesses the quality of care and the impact of malpractice; and examines the cost of having (or not having) adequate health insurance. Explores options and prospects for meaningful reform. Usually offered every year.

LGLS 116b Civil Rights and Civil Liberties: Constitutional Debates
[ ss ]

May not be taken for credit by students who successfully completed POL 116b or LGLS/POL 116b previously.

The history and politics of civil liberties and civil rights in the United States, with emphasis on the period from World War I to the present. Emphasis on freedom of speech, religion, abortion, privacy, racial discrimination, and affirmative action. Readings from Supreme Court cases and influential works by historians and political philosophers. Usually offered every year.

LGLS 118a Gender, Justice, and Legislation
[ deis-us ss ]

Gender equity can be defined as equal access to resources and opportunities for any and all genders. A society’s laws will generally reflect its active commitment to gender equity and justice. This class examines the role of legislation, the implementation it, and the advocacy and research that accompanies policy as they combine to impact marginalized gender identities. Utilizing an intersectional lens, we explore the experiences of marginalized gender identities, as we know systems of oppression intertwine to inform the unique lived experiences of different individuals and groups. The course emphasizes these themes specifically through an exploration of menstrual equity.

Students are asked to engage in on and off campus advocacy activities, as well as experiences to cultivate their research skills (conducting interviews, focus groups, etc.) to achieve the course learning objectives. Students will have an opportunity to meet with legislators, coalition members, and community stakeholders. This course emphasizes experiential learning to achieve the course learning objectives. This course is part of the ENACT network. Usually offered every second year.

LGLS 121a Legislation for Change: Research, Policy, and Social Determinants of Health
[ deis-us ss ]

Examines state, local, and federal level policy making and reform through exploration of the five domains of the social determinants of health (SDOH). Students will research how to write a policy that relates to at least one of the following SDOH domains: 1) economic stability, 2) social and community context, 3) healthcare access and quality, 4) education access and quality, and 5) neighborhood and built environment. For example, a student might explore universal basic income as a policy to support economic stability and examine how this type of policy can impact the health of individuals and communities. This course encourages students to cultivate their research skills for the purposes of creating evidence based policies. Students are also asked to utilize their advocacy and communication skills by engaging in productive civil discourse surrounding their chosen policy. This course is part of the ENACT network. Usually offered every year.

LGLS 122b Indigenous Rights, Environmental Justice, and Federal Indian Law
[ ss wi ]

Provides a look at the intersection of indigenous rights, environmental justice, and federal Indian law. You will learn essential tools of legal reasoning and argument. Through in-class discussion, cases, and reading you will learn about conflicts over land use, climate change, and sovereignty. The course will be organized into weekly case studies where we will study contemporary and historical conflicts including: the Dakota Access pipeline, relocation due to sea level rise, fishing rights and dam removal, water rights in the face of drought, uranium mining, and Native Nation regulation of oil and gas extraction on reservation lands. Usually offered every second year.

LGLS 123b Immigration and Human Rights
[ deis-us ss ]

Examines U.S. immigration practices policy in the context of international human rights treaties, social movements, historical dynamics, political struggles, and global practices, with some attention to other states' immigration policies. This course focuses on the how the daily interactions of societal institutions and roles is continuously constructing immigration and human rights systems and ideas. As such, much of the class work in this course involves practical exercises in which students experience the decision making and roles of human rights lawyers, organizers and policy leaders in the context of current social and cultural controversies, ideologies, and events. So, students will be introduced to the generally applicable skills, concepts, values, and attitudes involved in human rights litigation, movement organizing, and policy making. This course explores tensions between social movements, domestic politics, and international law in guiding immigration reform, and challenges students to assess the sources of rights and the winners and losers (in terms of efficacy and accountability) of rights talk. Usually offered every spring.

LGLS 124b Comparative Law and Development
[ djw nw ss ]

Surveys legal systems across the world with special application to countries in the process of political, social, or economic transition. Examines constitutional and rule-of-law principles in the context of developing global networks. Usually offered every second year.

LGLS 125b International Law and Organizations
[ ss ]

Introduction to international law, its nature, sources, and application, for example, its role in the management of international conflicts. Topics may include international agreements, international organizations including the United Nations and the International Court of Justice, states and recognition, nationality and alien rights, territorial and maritime jurisdiction, international claims, and the laws of war and human rights. Usually offered every third year.

LGLS 126a Forced Migration Clinic
[ deis-us djw oc ss wi ]

Prerequisite: LGLS 123b and instructor permission. May be repeated once for credit.

In the Forced Migration Clinic, students represent migrants who have fled persecution or torture in their home countries and seek refuge in the United States, as well as support immigrant communities in addressing human rights violations in the United States (and abroad), out of our storefront offices in Waltham. Students handle every aspect of representation in cases and causes that determine, for example, whether a client will be granted asylum or face deportation, under the close supervision of faculty. The principal learning model for this course is reflection on planning, experience, and witnessing, so students will have multiple opportunities to try out different forms of the skills, concepts, values, and attitudes required for competent legal representation and effective and accountable social change, but they will also experience how legal systems operate from the inside and so to understand the roles of law in constructing societal conditions and expectations. Students will have the opportunity, but not the obligation, to seek Department of Justice immigration representation accreditation before, during, or after this course. Usually offered every year.

LGLS 129a Transitional Justice: Global Justice and Societies in Transition
[ djw ss ]

Introduces transitional justice, a set of practices that arise following a period of conflict that aim directly at confronting past violations of human rights. This course will focus on criminal prosecutions, truth commissions, reparations, memorials, and the contributions of art and culture. Usually offered every year.

LGLS 130a Resolving Conflicts: Introduction to ADR and Mediation
[ oc ss ]

Designed for students interested in learning to constructively deal with conflict, this course examines the spectrum of ADR with a particular focus on mediation. Students will learn to become effective mediators and skilled facilitators of the mediation process. This course meets the requirements outlined in the Massachusetts Confidentiality Statute (MGL ch233 sec 23C) and Rule 8(c)(i) of the MA Supreme Judicial Court’s Uniform Rules on Dispute Resolution, the standard for mediating in the District Court and beyond in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Usually offered every second year.

LGLS 131b Medical Ethics: Law, Policy, and Patient Rights
[ deis-us ss ]

Sophomore standing or higher.

This interdisciplinary seminar focuses on patient rights. Examines how health and health care decisions are made, and by whom. Explores a range of current issues in the field of biomedical ethics, including the legal and ethical aspects of the physician-patient relationship, the doctrine of informed consent, the right to refuse treatment, the right-to-die, human subjects research. Analyzes the role of law in hard and often tragic choices involving life, quality of life, and death. Assesses the ability of the legal system to set standards, promote equity, and resolve conflict. Usually offered every second year.

LGLS 132b Environmental Law and Policy
[ oc ss wi ]

Provides a basic survey of environmental law. You will learn essential tools of legal reasoning and argument. Through in-class discussion, cases, and reading on environmental history and ethics, we will cover a range of environmental issues, including: climate change, water rights, the Keystone XL pipeline, our national parks and monuments, and much more. You will reflect on the tradeoffs, contradictions, and inequities baked into our core environmental laws, and think about ways to apply those laws in more equitable ways. Usually offered every year.

LGLS 133b Criminal Law: Liberty and Justice For All?
[ oc ss ]

Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.

Far from the typical lecture-based experience, this course will be conducted more like a series of hands-on workshops designed to have students learn criminal law by actively doing as opposed to passively listening. Students will have fun while building a practical understanding of how the legal system actually works. Usually offered every third year.

LGLS 134b Workers' Rights in the United States
[ deis-us ss ]

Explores the rights and laws governing workers as individuals and as a group in the context of the history of labor and workers in the United States since the 18th century. The course focuses on the history and changing rights of free laborers, men, women and children, though it addresses the fact of enslaved workers in the US before 1865. Enslaved workers, and the aftermath of slavery and racism, has continued to affect the development of conditions for workers in the US until the present day. We will take a particular interest in labor and workers’ rights history and cases from Massachusetts, which has had a significant place in the story from 19th century mills and factories through contemporary workers’ struggles on college campuses - including at Brandeis.

The course will incorporate voices and histories of workers from a variety of backgrounds in the United States, who have worked for rights, recognition, and better conditions. Bringing comparative perspectives, there will also be units studying legal paradigms from Jewish law about on the working day, paid breaks and commuting time, to round out perspectives on the long-standing issues facing workers and employers across the globe and across cultures. Usually offered every second year.

LGLS 136a Intellectual Property for Innovators
[ ss ]

Intellectual property (IP) represents over 90% of the value of major companies and drives significant advancements in science, business, arts, and technology. This course provides a hands-on approach to understanding IP, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. Students will explore and develop innovative solutions to specific needs at Brandeis and beyond. They will evaluate the patentability of their inventions, select and search trademarks, and design logos.

Through case studies of products like the Apple iPhone and Adidas sneakers, students will learn how IP protects products from copying. The course will also examine the evolving challenges that artificial intelligence poses to existing legal frameworks. "Mystery snacks" will serve as an immersive example of how IP affects our daily lives. The course concludes with students pitching their inventions and IP protection strategies, reinforcing their understanding of the strategic importance of IP in business decisions. Usually offered every year.

LGLS 137a Knowledge and Punishment
[ hum ]

Embarks on a thought-provoking journey to deepen participants’ understanding of how laws and punishments intricately shape our learning processes and define societal acceptability. This course offers a comprehensive exploration of the legal frameworks that influence our educational systems, shedding light on the subtle ways in which consequences, whether doctrine or unintended, mold our perceptions of what is deemed appropriate. Special one-time offering, spring 2025.

LGLS 138b Science on Trial
[ qr ss ]

Surveys the procedures and analytic methods by which scientific data enter into litigation and regulation/policy making. Introduces basic tools of risk analysis and legal rules of evidence. Case studies of tobacco litigation and regulation; use of DNA and other forensic evidence in the criminal justice system; the Woburn ground-water contamination case; and other topics to be selected, such as genetics in the courtroom, court-ordered Cesarean sections, polygraph testing, alternative medicine, and genetically modified foods. Usually offered every second year.

LGLS 142b Law and Psychology
[ deis-us ss ]

Examines a psychological perspective on the behavior of key players in the legal system, focusing on the trial process. Explores the tension between human behavior and legal ideals of objectivity, based on current research, emphasizing biases leading to miscarriages of justice. Examines areas for reform, including current debates, review of new and proposed legislation, pending cases, and emerging issues in psychological research. Usually offered every year.

LGLS 143b Law, Crime and Punishment in Dante's Inferno
[ ss ]

Consists of an in-depth reading of Dante's Inferno, with particular attention on the themes pertaining to law and justice that pervade the work. Each week we will supplement Dante's text with contemporary readings examining the same or similar issues. Our goal throughout the semester will be to explore this classic work from the fourteenth century to discover how and to what extent it can deepen our understanding of the legal controversies we are faced with today. Usually offered every third year.

LGLS 144a Law in Shakespeare
[ ss ]

Explores the array of insights about law and legal institutions to be found in the plays of William Shakespeare. As the semester goes on, we will read and critically engage with such works as Measure for Measure, The Merchant of Venice, and King Lear, with a view towards discerning the legal themes that drive the plays’ plots and motivate their characters, and at the same time, suggesting how these inquiries can inform our understandings of the nature and workings of those themes in contemporary life. Examples include the venerable problem of how best to interpret contracts, as displayed in The Merchant of Venice, and the conflicts between natural and positive law that frame the action in King Lear. Assessment will be based on the quality and consistency of participation in class discussion, as well as performance on two short papers and a final project. Usually offered every second year.

LGLS 145a Practicum in Experiences with Justice

Prerequisite: One 100-level LGLS course, or instructor permission. Yields half-course credit. May be repeated once for a total of 4 credits. May not be taken for credit by students who took LGLS 45a in prior years.

Explores various aspects of the justice/penal system in the United States. Students will work on projects with community partners to enhance their learning. Usually offered every year.

LGLS 145b Building the Massachusetts Constitution
[ ss ]

Explores the process of compromise and negotiation leading to the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780, the world's oldest operative written constitution. Students learn innovative digital literacy methods by simulating the real-time process of law-building, using techniques developed by Oxford University researchers. Usually offered every second year.

LGLS 149b Genetics, Law and Society
[ deis-us ss ]

Explores the social policy implications of new genetic technologies, including legal, ethical, and political challenges. Topics include privacy and discrimination, changing definitions in family law, information technology and intellectual property, forensic implications of DNA testing, regulation of reproductive technology. Usually offered every second year.

LGLS 161b Advocacy for Policy Change
[ oc ss wi ]

This hands-on course invites students to address concrete social problems through public policy reform. It provides background in theories, advocacy skills, networks, and key players that drive the legislative process. Focusing on policy change at the statehouse level, students engage with elected officials and community organizations to advance key legislation affecting social welfare, health, education, and economic justice. This course is supported by ENACT, the Educational Network for Active Civic Transformation. Usually offered every year.

LGLS 189a Business Law
[ ss ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took AMST 189a in prior years.

Surveys core legal institutions of property, contracts, and corporations. Examines how law promotes and restrains the development of capitalism and market society in America, from the era of mass production through the age of global trade and digital commerce. Usually offered every year.

AMST 170a The Paranoid Style in American Culture
[ ss ]

From the Salem witch trials to QAnon, fears of cabals and conspiracies have darkened the American imagination. Course offers a historical overview, along with close attention to novels by Thomas Pynchon, Philip K. Dick and Don DeLillo, and such films as The Manchurian Candidate and Chinatown. Usually offered every second year.

ANTH 156a Power and Violence: The Anthropology of Political Systems
[ deis-us dl nw ss ]

Political orders are established and maintained by varying combinations of overt violence and the more subtle workings of ideas. The course examines the relationship of coercion and consensus, and forms of resistance, in historical and contemporary settings. Usually offered every second year.

ANTH 163b Economies and Culture
[ djw nw ss ]

Prerequisite: ANTH 1a, ECON 2a, ECON 10a, or permission of the instructor.

We read in newspapers and books and hear in everyday discussion about "the economy," an identifiably separate sphere of human life with its own rules and principles and its own scholarly discipline (economics). The class starts with the premise that this "common sense" idea of the economy is only one among a number of possible perspectives on the ways people use resources to meet their basic and not-so-basic human needs. In the course, we draw on cross-cultural examples, and take a look at the cultural aspects of finance, corporations, and markets. Usually offered every second year.

ECON 57a Environmental Economics
[ oc ss ]

Prerequisite: ECON 2a or ECON 10a.

Investigates the theoretical and policy problems posed by the use of renewable and nonrenewable resources. Theoretical topics include the optimal pricing of resources, the optimal use of standards and taxes to correct pollution problems under uncertainty, and the measurement of costs and benefits. Usually offered every year.

HIST 130b Crime and Punishment in U.S. History
[ deis-us ss ]

The United States incarcerates more of its people per capita than any other nation on the planet. How did this come to be? This course examines how Americans have defined, represented, and punished crime, from the birth of the penitentiary to the present day. We will discuss an eclectic mix of historical texts and genres ' criminal codes, trial records, true-crime journalism, historical studies, social theory, urban sociology, and films. Usually offered every second year.

HIST 142a Crime, Deviance, and Confinement in Modern Europe
[ ss ]

Examines the crisis of law and order in old regime states and explores the prison and asylum systems that emerged in modern Europe. Surveys psychiatry and forensic science from the Napoleonic period until World War II. Usually offered every third year.

HIST 160a American Legal History I
[ deis-us ss ]

Surveys American legal development from colonial settlement to the Civil War. Major issues include law as an instrument of revolution, capitalism and contract, invention of the police, family law, slavery law, and the Civil War as a constitutional crisis. Usually offered every third year.

HIST 160b American Legal History II
[ deis-us ss ]

Survey of American legal development from 1865 to the present. Major topics include constitutionalism and racial inequality, the legal response to industrialization, progressivism and the transformation of liberalism, the rise of the administrative state, and rights-based movements for social justice. Usually offered every year.

HIST 161b American Political History
[ deis-us ss ]

Development of American party politics, the legal system, and government. Special attention paid to the social and cultural determinants of party politics, and economic and social policymaking. Usually offered every second year.

HIST 201a Major Problems in American Legal History
[ ss ]

An advanced readings seminar on major interpretive issues in the field of American legal history. The seminar examines the different ways historians have interpreted law, political culture, and governing institutions, and their historical relationship to broader social, economic, cultural, and political processes. Usually offered every second year.

LGLS 110a The War on Drugs or the War on Us?
[ deis-us ss ]

A rigorous course that enables students to foster a deep understanding of the challenges of administering justice in a democratic society. Far from the typical lecture-based experience, this course will be conducted more like a series of hands-on workshops designed to have students learn by actively doing as opposed to passively listening. Students will do this by studying contemporary jurisprudence, formulating their own philosophy of how justice should be administered, and applying their own philosophy to real criminal cases. Usually offered every third year.

LGLS 143b Law, Crime and Punishment in Dante's Inferno
[ ss ]

Consists of an in-depth reading of Dante's Inferno, with particular attention on the themes pertaining to law and justice that pervade the work. Each week we will supplement Dante's text with contemporary readings examining the same or similar issues. Our goal throughout the semester will be to explore this classic work from the fourteenth century to discover how and to what extent it can deepen our understanding of the legal controversies we are faced with today. Usually offered every third year.

NEJS 25a Introduction to Talmud
[ hum oc ]

Prerequisite: A 30-level Hebrew course or the equivalent is recommended.

An introduction to Treatise Bava Metzia, on the subject of labor law. Topics include: payment for commuting time, eating on the job, benefits a worker can expect from their employer. The course introduces the Babylonian Talmud. Attention is paid to modes of argument, literary form, and development of the Talmudic text. No previous study of Talmud is presupposed. Usually offered every second year.

NEJS 126a Intermediate Talmud
[ hum ]

Prerequisite: A 40-level Hebrew course or the equivalent.

Tractate Sanhedrin, chapter three, which deals with the issue of voluntary and compulsory arbitration and the binding nature of gambling agreements. Usually offered every third year.

NEJS 186a Introduction to the Qur'an
[ djw dl hum nw ]

Traces the history of the Qur'an as text, its exegesis, and its role in inter-religious polemics, law, theology, and politics. Examines the role of the Qur'an in Islamic teachings and its global impact. Usually offered every second year.

PHIL 111a What Is Justice?
[ hum ]

This course is a survey of important claims, theories, and arguments about justice in the Western philosophical tradition. Questions we will discuss include: What is justice (and injustice)? What makes someone a just person? What makes for a just society, and a just government in particular? How does justice interact with other things we care about, like equality, liberty, and personal relationships? What does justice require of us in how we treat people from different social groups? We will address these questions through interrogating both classic and contemporary philosophical texts. Usually offered every second year.

PHIL 125b Philosophy of Law
[ hum ]

Examines the nature of criminal responsibility, causation in the law, negligence and liability, omission and the duty to rescue, and the nature and limits of law. Also, is the law more or less like chess or poker, cooking recipes, or the Ten Commandments? Usually offered every year.

POL 192b Seminar: Topics in Law and Political Theory
[ ss ]

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher. May be repeated for credit if different topic.

Interplay among law, morality, and political theory. Specific topics vary from year to year. Usually offered every year.

AAAS/WGS 122a Carceral Studies
[ deis-us djw ss ]

With more than 10 million people imprisoned around the world in jails, detention centers, refuge camps, for-profit prisons, the effects of a carceral state are evident in many ways. Modern democratic societies often rely upon practices of incarceration, detention, and surveillance to demonstrate the power of a rule of law. This course will be an introductory study covering the social costs of the practice of incarceration across geographies and global communities. Usually offered every second year.

AMST/LGLS 188b Louis Brandeis: Law, Business and Politics
[ ss ]

Brandeis's legal career serves as model and guide for exploring the ideals and anxieties of American legal culture throughout the twentieth century. Focuses on how legal values evolve in response to new technologies, corporate capitalism, and threats to personal liberty. Usually offered every second year.

ANTH 126a U.S. Policing in Context: Past, Present, Future
[ deis-us ss ]

An interdisciplinary analysis of policing in the United States, which considers policing narratives, training, culture, representation, and technology. Case studies include Black Lives Matter protests and the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. Theoretical frameworks utilized include anthropology of power, critical race theory, and criminal justice. Usually offered every third year.

ED 172a Race Theories and Education
[ ss ]

Examines how racial hierarchies are constructed, maintained, and challenged within the U.S. public education system. Using an interdisciplinary approach that draws from law, sociology, philosophy, history, cultural studies, and education, the course pushes students to interrogate the political, epistemological, and material foundations of schooling. While Critical Race Theory serves as an anchoring framework, a variety of theories will be explored not as static frameworks, but as living traditions engaged in ongoing struggle, resistance, and reimagination.

Students will be expected not only to understand these theories but to actively engage with them—to apply, extend, repurpose, and imagine their use in policy, curriculum, pedagogy, and community action. Additionally, students will reflect on their own educational experiences and those of communities historically excluded from power. Together, we will analyze how schools function as both instruments of racial stratification and sites of possibility. Usually offered every year.

ENG 121b Literature in the Age of Mass Incarceration
[ deis-us hum ]

Investigates prison writing and the broader impact of mass incarceration on literature in the U.S. We will consider carceral institutions as distinctive, complex sites of cultural production and explore how creative practices in prisons emerge and circulate as texts. We will approach this literature as a practice of survival in extremity and resistance to an intensively racialized, dehumanizing set of institutions. And we will examine how this writing imagines very different forms of justice. Throughout, this course will investigate the volatile intersections of sexuality, gender, and race in carceral subjectivity and resistance. This course is based on the instructor’s experiences teaching incarcerated students in the Boston area and will have options for service-learning and community engagement. Usually offered every third year.

LGLS 125b International Law and Organizations
[ ss ]

Introduction to international law, its nature, sources, and application, for example, its role in the management of international conflicts. Topics may include international agreements, international organizations including the United Nations and the International Court of Justice, states and recognition, nationality and alien rights, territorial and maritime jurisdiction, international claims, and the laws of war and human rights. Usually offered every third year.

LGLS 161b Advocacy for Policy Change
[ oc ss wi ]

This hands-on course invites students to address concrete social problems through public policy reform. It provides background in theories, advocacy skills, networks, and key players that drive the legislative process. Focusing on policy change at the statehouse level, students engage with elected officials and community organizations to advance key legislation affecting social welfare, health, education, and economic justice. This course is supported by ENACT, the Educational Network for Active Civic Transformation. Usually offered every year.

NEJS 27a Abortion, Reproduction, and Contraception in Jewish Law and Ethics
[ hum ]

Challenges the usual framing of abortion in the U.S. as a conflict between religious and secular, or murder versus personal autonomy, and challenges the predominant Christian framings of ethical considerations for abortion, by introducing Jewish sources from the bible until today. Students will gain detailed, critical, and historical information about how Jewish law and Jewish individuals have deliberated about ending pregnancies. The primary sources, along with guest speakers and academic scholarship, will empower students to weigh and propose alternative framings of abortion and reproduction in the U.S. Topics include: Is a fetus considered alive? What grounds do Jewish ethics offer for abortion? How does a pregnant woman or person’s mental and physical health affect a decision for abortion? Do Jewish ethics recognize rape to be grounds for abortion? Who should be the decision-maker on abortion? How should genetic testing affect decisions to terminate pregnancies? How greatly do modern Jewish legal voices range on abortion? Special one-time offering, fall 2022.

NEJS 128b Gender and Multiculturalism: Conflicts Between Women's Secular Rights and Religious Laws
[ hum wi ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took PHIL 128a in prior years.

Can the state determine what children must learn in schools run by religious minorities? Should the state intervene to prevent forced or underage marriage if these practices are based on religious traditions? Can the state accommodate religiously-based demands to provide separate but equal public services to men and women, in prayer, on public transportation or at universities? These are some of the issues we will explore in this class through reading texts in law, political philosophy and modern Jewish thought. Usually offered every second year.

NEJS 160a Jewish Feminisms
[ deis-us hum ]

Examines the role of Jewish women in the broader feminist movement and the impact of feminist theory and activism on Jewish thought, law, ritual practice and communal norms in the 20th and 21st century. We will explore classic feminist critiques and transformations of traditional Judaism and examine contemporary controversies involving issues such as equality under Jewish ritual and family law, sex segregation in public life, inclusion of Jewish People of Color and of LGBTQ Jews and antisemitism in the women's movement. Usually offered every year.

NEJS 160b Legal Controversies in Israeli History
[ djw hum nw ]

Investigates Israeli history, politics, and culture through the lens of major legal controversies including the tension between "Jewish" and "democratic," the Shoah in Israeli history, the Occupied Territories, legislation of family life and religious practice and more. Usually offered every second year.

NEJS 197a Islamic Law: Classical Foundations to Modern Applications
[ djw hum ]

Examines the development, theories, and debates of Islamic Law, from its classical foundations to its modern applications. The course will present critical understanding of the history and practice of Islamic law while also giving students the framework and resources with which they can engage in modern discussions about Islamic Law. We will begin with the early development of Islamic Law and its interpretive theories, the rise and spread of the classical legal schools, and the emergence of pre-modern legal institutions such as legal schools and courts. We will also delve into the content, morality, and evolving socio-cultural contexts of Islamic law. We will discuss the impact of colonialism and modernity on Islamic legal discourses and institution. We will conclude the course by exploring several case studies of “Islamic law” in action in society and examine its interactions with the American legal system. Usually offered every second year.