Program in LAW AND SOCIETY

College of Social Sciences

Director: Robert E. Crew, Jr., Office of the Dean, College of Social Sciences

The Program in Law and Society offers an interdisciplinary study of the interaction of law and legal institutions and contemporary society. It is designed to provide an appreciation and recognition of the impact of law and legal institutions on society and the ways law is shaped by the values, behavior, and organization of social, economic, and political systems. Courses from the departments of Economics, Geography, Political Science, Urban and Regional Planning, and Sociology, as well as the School of Public Administration and Policy, are included. Students may minor in law and society or select a major concentration in law and society through the interdisciplinary social sciences major. The Program in Law and Society is appropriate for a variety of educational and occupational goals since the program provides an introduction to the links between law and other human activity and serves as a broad liberal education in the social sciences. Although prelaw students may enroll in law and society, the program is not a prelaw or preprofessional program, and a minor or major concentration in law and society is not offered as preparation for law school.

Requirements for a Minor in Law and Society

A minor in law and society shall consist of at least five courses from the designated curriculum, including law and society (POS 3691), and either sociology of law (SYP 3540) or economics and the law (ECP 3451), as two of the five courses. The remaining three may be selected from the list of approved courses below.

Requirements for a Major

A primary concentration in law and society is available in the social science interdisciplinary major. It consists of introduction to law and society (POS 3691), either economics and the law (ECP 3451) or sociology of law (SYP 3540), plus four other courses from the approved list of courses. To complete the social science major with a concentration in law and society, students shall be required to select two twelve (12) semester hour minors from two social science departments. One of the minors must be in economics, political science, or sociology, and students must select twelve (12) semester hours for the minor from a department's courses included in the law and society curriculum. Students interested in the social science interdisciplinary major should refer to that departmental entry of this General Bulletin.

Courses

The following courses have been approved for the law and society program. In addition to the required courses, students shall select courses for the law and society minor and the law and society concentration in the social science major from this list. See the "Interdisciplinary Program in Social Science" entry of this General Bulletin for course prerequisites. Descriptions of the following courses can be found under the individual departments in which they are taught.

Economics

• ECO 4504 Public Sector Economics (3)
• ECO 4554 Economics of State and Local Government (3)
• ECP 3302 Economics of Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment (3)
• ECP 3403 Business Organization and Market Structure (3)
• ECP 3451 Economics and the Law (3)
• ECP 4413 Government Regulation of Business (3)
• ECP 4613 Urban Economics (3)

Geography

• GEO 4340 Living in a Hazardous Environment (3)
• GEO 4372 Natural Resource Assessment and Analysis (3)

Political Science

• CPO 3123 Comparative Government and Politics: Great Britain (3)
• POS 3122 State Politics (3)
• POS 3691 Introduction to Law and Society (3)
• POS 4413 The American Presidency (3)
• POS 4424 Legislative Systems (3)
• POS 4606 The Supreme Court in American Politics (3)
• POS 4624 The Supreme Court, Civil Liberties, and Civil Rights (3)
• POT 2502 Politics and Ethics (3)
• POT 4205 American Political Thought I (3)
• POT 4206 American Political Thought II (3)
• PUP 3002 Introduction to Public Policy (3)

Public Administration and Policy

• PAD 4603 Administrative Law (3)

Sociology

• SYD 4700 Race and Minority Group Relations (3)
• SYG 2010 Social Problems (3)
• SYO 3100 Family Problems and Social Change (3)
• SYO 3530 Social Classes and Inequality (3)
• SYO 4300 Sociology of Politics (3)
• SYP 3540 Sociology of Law (3)
• SYP 4570 Deviance and Social Control (3)

Urban and Regional Planning

• URP 4423 Introduction to Environmental Planning and Resource Management (3)

Other Courses

• PHM 3400 Philosophy of Law (3)
• SOP 3751 Psychology and the Law (3)

Students may consult with Dr. Robert E. Crew, Director, Interdisciplinary Program in Social Science, for additional information.

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