2015-2016 Undergraduate Bulletin

Law and Society, Bachelor of Arts

The Law and Society major offers an interdisciplinary approach to the study of law and legal institutions, their impact on society, and society’s impact on them. The major is organized around the central theme of understanding law as an instrument of political and social change and examines questions concerning how law matters in people’s lives; how law and law–like systems of rules empower and constrain individuals, groups, organizations and communities; and how the structures and values in social institutions shape and are shaped by law.

Credits required. 36

Prerequisites. POL 101 and SOC 101. Students are strongly urged to complete these two courses during their first year in the College and are course prerequisites for LWS 200. These courses can fulfill the College’s general education requirement in the Flexible Core: U.S. Experience in its Diversity and the Flexible Core: Individual and Society areas respectively.

Prerequisites for individual courses include ANT 315 which requires at least one course in either ANT or LAW, and ECO 215 which requires ECO 101.

Coordinators. Professors Monica Varsanyi (212.237.8232, mvarsanyi@jjay.cuny.edu) and Maxwell Mak, (646.557.4662, mmak@jjay.cuny.edu), Department of Political Science

Advisor. Professor Monica Varsanyi, Department of Political Science (212.237.8232, mvarsanyi@jjay.cuny.edu)

Advising resources. Sample Four-year Plan of Study

Part One. Introductory Course

Required

LWS 200Introduction to Law and Society

3

Total Credit Hours: 3

Part Two. Skills

Required

SSC 325Research Methods in the Behavioral Sciences

3

Total Credit Hours: 3

Part Three. Foundations

(Two courses in this area must be at the 300-level or above)

Category A: American Legal Foundations

Select two (one course must be at 300-level or above)

HIS 277American Legal History

3

LAW 206The American Judiciary

3

POL 235Judicial Processes and Politics

3

POL 301Constitutional Powers

3

POL 308State Courts and State Constitutional Law

3

Category B: International Legal Foundations

Select one

ANT 315Systems of Law

3

POL 250International Law and Justice

3

POL 320International Human Rights

3

Category C: Sociological Foundations

Select one

SOC 206The Sociology of Conflict and Dispute Resolution

3

SOC 232Social Stratification

3

SOC 302Social Problems

3

Total Credit Hours: 12

Part Four: Philosophy/Jurisprudence/Ethics

Select one

LAW 301Jurisprudence

3

LAW 310/PHI 310Ethics and Law

3

PHI 302The Philosophy of Rights

3

POL 270Political Philosophy

3

POL 273Western Political Thought

3

POL 371American Political Philosophy

3

POL 375Law, Order, Justice and Society

3

Total Credit Hours: 3

Part Five: Societal and Political Change

Select four courses, or two courses plus a six credit internship (LWS 375, LWS 378, POL 406, POL 407, POL 408, or three courses plus a three-credit internship (LWS 375). Only one 200-level course and a maximum of six credits of internship can be applied towards Part Five of the major. All students must take at least one course dealing with social change and race, gender, sexual orientation, or ethnicity (POL 313 or POL 318 or POL 319 or LLS 322 mentioned in the note below).

ANT 330American Cultural Pluralism and the Law

3

ECO 215Economics of Regulation and the Law

3

LLS 322Latina/o Stuggles for Civil Rights & Social Justice (was Civil Rights & Civil Liberties in Urban Latina/o Communities)

3

POL 305Constitutional Rights and Liberties

3

POL 313/LAW 313The Law and Politics of Race Relations

3

POL 316The Politics of Rights

3

POL 318Law & Politics of Sexual Orientation

3

POL 319Gender and Law

3

POL 344The Law and Politics of Immigration

3

SOC 305The Sociology of Law

3

LLS 322, POL 313, POL 318, POL 319: All students must take at least one course dealing with social change and race, gender, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.

Internship Options

(Each internship requires permission of the instructor)

LWS 375Law and Society Internship

3

LWS 378Law and Society Internship Intensive

6

POL 406Seminar and Internship in New York City Government and Politics

6

POL 407New York State Assembly/Senate Session Program

12

POL 408CUNY Washington, D.C. Summer Internship Program

6

Total Credit Hours: 12

Part Six: Senior Capstone

Required

LWS 425Colloquium for Research in Law and Society

3

Total Credit Hours: 3

Total Credit Hours: 36