Law and the Liberal Arts

Nancy Schauber, Coordinator (Philosophy)

Law and the liberal arts is an interdisciplinary minor that consists of courses from across the curriculum. The courses that count toward the major are among those that are generally recommended by law schools for students thinking about going to law school. The purpose of the courses within the minor is to prepare one to think critically and analytically as a well-rounded liberal artist. The courses are divided into eight areas: law, American history, economics, ethics, legal system, logical reasoning, public speaking and debate, and writing.

The Law and the Liberal Arts Minor

Note: Students must receive a C (2.0) or above for these courses to count toward the minor. No course taken for less than half a unit will count towards the minor.

Six units, including:

One unit in Area 1

Five units from at least five of the remaining areas

No more than three of the courses to be applied toward the minor may be from any one department.

At least two courses must be at the 300-level or higher to count toward the minor. No more than two courses at the 100-level may count toward the minor.

Students are expected to fulfill all prerequisites necessary for courses within the minor. Prerequisites do not count toward the minor unless otherwise noted.

Area 1: Law

ECON 231 Law and Economics

PHIL 260 Philosophical Problems in Law and Society

PHIL 364 Philosophy of Law

PLSC 331 Constitutional Law

PLSC 333 Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

PLSC 352 International Law

PLSC 379 Selected Topics (appropriate when the subject relates primarily to law and the course is approved by the law and the liberal arts advisory council)

RHCS 353 Rhetoric and Law

Area 2: American History

HIST 199 The Tokyo Trials

HIST 199 Church and State in Early America

HIST 199 Liberty vs Security: Free Speech from Jefferson to Lincoln

HIST 200 Colonial America

HIST 218 State and Society in Modern America

HIST 299 ST: Transnational Abolitionism

HIST 391 Transnational Social Reform

HIST 400 Senior Seminar: The Alien and Sedition Acts

HIST 901 AP US History (counts as 100-level class)

Area 3: Economics

ECON 101 Principles of Microeconomics

ECON 102 Principles of Macroeconomics

ECON 105 Introduction to Global Economics

Area 4: Ethics

ECON 233 Ethics and Economics

LDST 210 Justice and Civil Society

LDST 377 Ethical Decision Making - Health Care

PHIL 120 Contemporary Moral Issues

PHIL 265 Bioethics

PHIL 269 Environmental Ethics

PHIL 360 Ethics

PHIL 365 Action, Responsibility, and Free Will

PHIL 375 Ethics and Practical Reasoning

RELG 267 Varieties of Christian Ethics

BUAD 392 Ethical, Social and Legal Responsibilities

Area 5: Legal System

ANTH 335 Law and Order: the Anthropology of Justice

CLSC 320 Cultural Property: Archaeology, Ethics, and Law

PLSC 337 Legal System

SOC 207 Crime and Justice in a Post-Modern Society

Area 6: Logical Reasoning

CMSC 150 Introduction to Computing

CMSC 155 Introduction to Scientific Computing

MATH 300 Fundamentals of Abstract Mathematics

PHIL 251 Elementary Symbolic Logic

Area 7: Public Speaking and Debate

PLSC 290 Mock Trial (.5 units)

Area 8: Writing

ENGL 383 Introduction to Composition Theory and Pedagogy

PHIL 353 Philosophical Methods: Majors'/Minors' Seminar