Law and Society

In this course, we will examine the relationship between the rules that govern us (law) and how we organize ourselves into communities (society), with the ultimate goal of understanding how American democracy works (or doesn’t work) to meet the needs of the people.  In addition to exploring how law reflects our values, traditions, and rights, we will focus on the role of legal institutions (largely judicial, but also legislative) in resolving conflicts among competing values, traditions, and rights that define our society.  And we will examine how individuals and groups work among those institutions to achieve preferred policy outcomes. 

Draft Syllabus