| Program Name: |
Law and Society |
| Director: |
Robert Johnson |
| Program Address: |
Department of Justice, Law and Society
The American University
4400 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20016
202-885-2951 |
| Program Type: |
Department |
| Program Status: |
Established undergraduate major program with over 100
students enrolled. Curriculum revised 1991-92. Department offers other Criminal Justice
and Administration of Justice undergraduate programs. |
| Statement of Intellectual Structure: |
| "The B.A. in Law and Society is an interdisciplinary program that
examines the role of law as it permeates social, political and economic institutions. The
curriculum investigates the interaction between legal thinking and culture, and analyzes
the social organization of legal institutions and the legal profession in U.S. society.
The complex relation of law and justice, mediated by societal conditions and forces, is
the central consideration in this program of study. The Law and Society curriculum is
informed by the awareness that law and legal thought pervade many aspects of modern life.
The required course work provides a solid foundation of knowledge regarding basic rules of
law, law as a social phenomenon, and the influences and effects of the legal profession on
the social system. Conversely, the required course work also examines the impact of
societal trends and changes on the law. The curriculum further explores law and legal
processes from a comparative perspective, enhancing the student's capacity to identify
universal or widely relevant dimensions of the relationship of law and society in the
pursuit of justice." |
|
|
| Program Curricular Organization: |
Seven required courses and nine elective courses from five
conceptual areas ("Law and the Justice System," "Sociology and
Anthropology," "Political Science/Government," "Economics," and
"Psychology"). Students must complete at least one course from each of these
five areas. |
| Required Courses: |
Macroeconomics
Critical Issues in Justice
Western Legal Tradition
American Legal Culture
Justice, Law and the Constitution
Justice Research
Comparative Systems of Law and Justice
|
| Sample of Elective Courses: |
Law and the Justice System
Justice, Morality and the Law
Legal Reasoning
Sociology and Anthropology
Cities and Crime
Gender and the Law
Political Science/Government
Philosophy, Politics and Society
International Law
Economics
Law and Economics
Social Change and Economic Justice
Psychology
Psychiatry and the Law
Violence and Institutions
|
| Experiential Component: |
None |
|
Please e-mail us
with any changes or corrections. |
