Legal Studies is an interdisciplinary field that draws from the humanities and social sciences to consider the purposes and structures of legal systems and how we negotiate principles of justice, rights, and obligations. Law is both an abstract ideal and a lived reality. It is also a social institution, constructed and maintained by fallible human beings, that permeates our everyday lives in myriad ways. It emerges from social, political, and cultural values, which vary across time and place; it affects different people differently; and the law both shapes society and is shaped by it.
Legal Studies students learn a holistic way of thinking about the relationship among law, society, and justice that will serve them well whether they seek to practice law or work in another field. They are exposed to different ways of thinking about the law, the nature of various legal systems and institutional forms, different theories of law and justice, and the lived reality of law in different social, cultural, and historical contexts. They learn to question the nature of law and authority, to study the gaps between law-on-the-books and law-in-action, and to interrogate the relationships between law and hierarchies of power based on race, gender, and other identity categories.
The minor consists of six classes: LS 101 - Introduction to Legal Studies , plus five additional courses selected from an approved list (available each semester from the Director of Legal Studies).
It is important to note that this is not a “pre-law” minor, but it is eminently suitable for and should be of great interest to students who are considering law school. It should also appeal to students seeking to work with nonprofit organizations, in policy analysis, and in various other careers. Any student interested in pursuing law school and a legal career should contact Emily Pelphrey, the pre-law career coach in the Knowlton Center.
