Provisional University Bulletin (2023-2024)

• 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 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 Louis 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 Legal Studies minor, by filling out a Declaration Form, contacting Grace Last, Program Administrator in the Legal Studies Office (Brown 325), or meeting with Prof. Dan Breen, Undergraduate Advising Head (UAH).

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

Students do not need to declare a Minor in Legal Studies to take Legal Studies courses.

.

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

Arnulf Becker

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

Sarah Curi

Richard Gaskins
Comparative law and social welfare. Global justice and human rights. Economic philosophies. Legal argumentation.

Alice Noble

Doug Smith

Melissa Stimell, Internship Director
Social welfare law. Conflict resolution.

Affiliated Faculty (contributing to the curriculum, advising and administration of the department or program)
Anita Hill (Heller)
Chandler Rosenberger (International and Global Studies)
Melissa Stimell (Legal Studies)
Andreas Teuber (Philosophy)
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 Program Director).
   2. Either LGLS 161b or IGS/LGLS 185b. If used as a substitute for the internship, the course may not also be counted toward B. above.
   3. An assigned internship in The Hague Semester Program (IGS/LGLS 92b or approved substitute).
   4. LGLS 98a, LGLS 98b, or LGLS 98bj.
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.
Daniel Breen

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

Prerequisites: LGLS 10a and one other LGLS course or permission of the instructor. 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.

A biweekly class, a supervised law-related internship in a public agency or nonprofit organization, and a related research paper. Internships are twice per week for not more than 15 hours per week. Examples of internship activities include investigating discrimination cases, negotiating between consumers and small business, and attending criminal and family courts. Internships must be arranged through the program administrator. Usually offered every semester.
Rosalind Kabrhel

LGLS 89aj Law and Society Internship and Seminar

Offers a closely supervised legal representation experience in a student-run immigration legal clinic as well as opportunities to interact with public agencies, nonprofit organization and/or government officials. The internship experience is integrated throughout this JBS program, and students' experiences in representing individuals and groups will form a large part of the text for all the courses included in this JBS. Students will apply basic concepts covered in the criminal law course to everyday cases. They will spend approximately 10 hours per week conducting research on Constitutional issues, interviewing clients, discussing cases with attorneys and judges, preparing for trial and attending court. Offered as part of JBS program.
Rosalind Kabrhel and Douglas Smith

LGLS 98a Independent Research

Usually offered every year.
Staff

LGLS 98b Independent Research

Usually offered every year.
Staff

LGLS 98bj Independent Research

Explores an array of complex issues in depth during the seminars as well as in the "real world"; as they attend public meetings or hearings and actively dialog with stakeholders. We will examine the day-to-day issues faced by stakeholders in the midst of reform efforts. While connecting theory and practice, students will take initiative and actively engage in structured assignments. Offered as part of the JBS program.
Sarah Curi and Alice Noble

AMST/LGL 140b Investigating Justice
[ 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.
Rosalind Kabrhel

AMST/LGL 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 school-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.
Rosalind Kabrhel

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.
Michael Willrich

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 second year.
Staff

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 year.

Aaron Bray

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

Closed to first-year students.

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. Concludes with options and prospects for meaningful reform. Usually offered every year.
Sarah Curi

LGLS 114aj American Health Care: Reform
[ ss ]

Nine years after the historic passage of the ACA, the United States and our health care system are at a crossroads. While the ACA seems to have weathered most of the significant implementation challenges, even its most ardent supporters acknowledge that the law provides only a partial fix for our nation's health care system. While access should improve appreciably, particularly for those who are currently uninsured, many will still remain without access to needed care. Moreover, among advanced nations our costs are the highest by far and the quality of our care is no better than that found in these less costly nations. We will explore the ACA, the events leading up to its passage, the policies the law was designed to further, its impacts so far--and the potential repeal and replace efforts. Offered as part of the JBS program.
Alice Noble

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.
Daniel Breen

LGLS 118a Civil Rights and Civil Liberties: Legislative Frameworks
[ ss ]

Legislative statutes help secure individual rights and liberties, shaping the social, economic, and cultural lives of citizens. These rights emerge from different legal frameworks from other Constitution-based protections, playing a major role in addressing issues of diversity, discrimination, and inequality. Usually offered every second year.
Daniel Breen

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.

James Pollack

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.

Douglas Smith

LGLS 123bj Immigration and Human Rights
[ 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. Offered as part of the JBS program.
Douglas Smith

LGLS 124b Comparative Law and Development
[ 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.
Daniel Breen

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 second year.
Staff

LGLS 127b International Economic Law
[ ss ]

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

Studies the transnational legal institution and practices that constitute the global economic networks of the 21st century. Surveys the fields of corporate regulation, including business practices and human rights, and legal regimes supporting trade and finance. Practice in arbitrating investment disputes between states and corporations. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

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, and the contributions of art and culture. Usually offered every second year.
Melissa Stimell

LGLS 130a Conflict Analysis and Intervention
[ oc ss ]

Examines alternatives to litigation, including negotiation and mediation. Through simulations and court observations, students assess their own attitudes about and skills in conflict resolution. Analyzes underlying theories in criminal justice system, divorce, adoption, and international arena. Usually offered every second year.
Melissa Stimell

LGLS 130aj Conflict Analysis and Intervention
[ oc ss ]

This hands-on course invites students to address social problems in immigration policy and practice through public policy reform, community organizing and legal representation. It provides background in the theories, advocacy skills, networks, movements and measures of institutional change that comprise social change practice. Students explore conflict resolution in the context of social justice advocacy, including litigation, community organizing, political advocacy, international institutions, negotiation, peace-making and mediation. Through simulations, court and community group observations, guided representation of immigrants and work with immigration advocacy groups, students assess their own attitudes and skills in conflict resolution, as well as the processes by which conflict resolution institutions and roles help construct the communities of which they are a part. We will analyze underlying theories of conflict and advocacy in domestic immigration and international arenas, as well as the relative efficacy of various modes for social change, such as big case litigation, coordinated ground-level litigation, cultural change approaches, peacemaking, grassroots organizing, direct action, political advocacy (lobbying) and business and other institution-building strategies. Offered as part of the JBS program.
Douglas Smith

LGLS 131b Patient Autonomy: Law, Medicine, and Ethics
[ deis-us ss ]

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. We also explore emerging issues of autonomy in public health with regard to opioid use, e-cigarettes, and Covid-19 vaccine and mask mandates. 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.
Staff

LGLS 131bj Patient Autonomy: Law, Medicine and Ethics
[ ss ]

At the heart of our evolving health care system are the doctor and the patient. Related to the doctor-patient relationship are often complex issues related to patient autonomy, life and death treatment decisions, and the cost of and access to care. They implicate questions of justice and the just distribution of care, a key goal of health care reform. We will explore ethical, legal, and social issues (including end-of-life-decision making, physician assisted suicide, procreative liberty, cloning, and genetic therapies) from the micro level of patient care at the patient's bedside to the macro issues of the health care system in which patient care is delivered and financed. Offered as part of the JBS program.
Sarah Curi

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 third year.
Staff

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 year.
Aaron Bray

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.
Daniel Breen

LGLS 142b Law and Psychology
[ ss ]

Examines a psychological perspective on the behavior of key players in the legal system, focusing on the trial process--both criminal and civil (personal injury). Explores the tension between human behavior and legal ideals of objectivity, based on current research, emphasizing biases leading to miscarriages of justice. Includes video analysis of jury behavior and courtroom advocacy. Usually offered every second year.
Rosalind Kabrhel

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 that examine 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.

Daniel Breen

LGLS 145a Practicum in Experiences with Justice

Prerequisite: One 100-level LGLS course. 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 intern at one of several sites coordinated by the instructor to enhance their learning. Usually offered every year.
Rosalind Kabrhel

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.
Daniel Breen

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.
Alice Noble

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. Usually offered every year.
Melissa Stimell

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.
Daniel Breen

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.
Staff

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.
Elizabeth Ferry

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.
Elizabeth Ferry

ECON 57a Environmental Economics
[ ss ]

Prerequisite: ECON 2a or 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.
Linda Bui and James Ji

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.
Michael Willrich

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.
Alice Kelikian

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.
Michael Willrich

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.
Michael Willrich

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.
Michael Willrich

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.
Michael Willrich

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 year.

Aaron Bray

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 that examine 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.

Daniel Breen

NEJS 25a Introduction to Talmud
[ hum ]

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.
Lynn Kaye

NEJS 113b Law in the Bible and the Ancient Near East
[ hum nw ss ]

Open to all students.

A study of laws and legal ideas in biblical and Near Eastern law "codes," treaties, contracts; economic documents and narratives; the development and function of the documents and ideas; the meaning of the laws; and their significance for the various societies. Usually offered every third year.
Staff

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.
Reuven Kimelman

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.
Staff

PHIL 111a What Is Justice?
[ hum ]

Prerequisite: One course in philosophy or political theory.

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.
Marion Smiley

PHIL 119a Human Rights
[ hum wi ]

Examines international human rights policies and the moral and political issues to which they give rise. Includes civilians' wartime rights, the role of human rights in foreign policy, and the responsibility of individuals and states to alleviate world hunger and famine. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

PHIL 125b Philosophy of Law
[ hum ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took PHIL 22b in prior years.

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.
Staff

PHIL 126a What Does it Mean to be a Global Citizen?
[ hum ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took PHIL 20a in prior years.

Focuses on the relation of the individual to the state and, in particular, on the theory and practice of nonviolent resistance, its aims, methods, achievements, and legitimacy. Examines the nature of obligation and the role of civil disobedience in a democratic society. Explores the conflict between authority and autonomy and the grounds for giving one's allegiance to any state at all. Examples include opposition to the nuclear arms race, and disobedience in China and Northern Ireland and at abortion clinics. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

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.
Bernard Yack or Jeffrey Lenowitz

AMST/LGL 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.
Daniel Breen

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.

Ariel Ludwig

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.

David Sherman

HIST 102a Gender and Law in the Japanese Empire
[ djw ss ]

Examines how the Japanese Empire mobilized its legal frameworks and institutions to transform family relations, gender norms, and sexual behaviors in the societies that it engulfed. We explore these processes through which contradictory ideas and practices collided and intersected. In the first half of the semester, we study Japanese family law as a malleable instrument for imperial governance and an interactive space of negotiation and contestation. The second half is devoted to probing Japanese efforts to criminalize abortion, regulate reproduction, “cure” disabilities, and fashion the body. In each session, we analyze the category of gender as integral to our discussions of empire, nation, ethnicity, race, culture, and war. The course does not require any prior knowledge of East Asian history. Special one-time offering, fall 2021.
Jooyeon Hahm

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 second year.
Staff

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. Usually offered every year.
Melissa Stimell

NEJS 128b Gender, Multiculturalism, and the Law
[ 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.
Lisa Fishbayn Joffe

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.
Lisa Fishbayn Joffe

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.
Alexander Kaye