Jurisprudence (JURI)

JURI 210  Perspectives on Law  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): WRIT 105 or HONP 100. This course provides the theoretical foundations and practical applications of legislative and judicial areas in United States legal systems. Integrating readings from theorists, scholars and jurists, the course introduces students to methodologies for resolving legal problems within the evolving United States system of law. Students may take LAWS 200 or JURI 210 but not both courses. Students in the Jurisprudence and/or Political Science majors should take JURI 210, not LAWS 200. Meets Gen Ed - Social Science Perspectives.

JURI 300  Essentials of Jurisprudence  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): JURI 210 or LAWS 200 or departmental approval. This core course within the Jurisprudence major provides a fundamental understanding of the principles, ideologies, and political movements that have shaped American law and procedure. It explores the evolution of the theory and scholarship of American law from its inception to the present. Through historical and contemporary readings and classroom discussion, students will consider the origin of law, the nature of social and political rights as well as the reciprocal effects of law and social institutions upon one another. Students will analyze legal opinions, statutes, treaties conventions, regulations and essays in the context of issues such as capital punishment, euthanasia, abortion and civil rights.

JURI 324  Legal Reasoning  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): JURI 210 or LAWS 200 or PHIL 206 or PHIL 212 or departmental approval. Theoretical foundations for developing models and methods of addressing legal problems. Principles of legal reasoning and argument in the Anglo-American common law tradition. Models of legal reasoning and methodology for resolving legal problems as developed within evolving social and philosophical notions of justice and fairness. Meets the Graduation Writing Requirement for majors in Jurisprudence, Law & Society. Mutually Exclusive with PHIL 324.

JURI 376  Feminist Jurisprudence  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 200 or PHIL 212 or JURI 210 or LAWS 200 or GSWS 200 or GSWS 201. An examination of the philosophical basis of legal doctrines as they apply to women and feminist issues. The course will explore the legal arguments feminists have made for social and political equality. It will also examine whether gender bias is built into traditional jurisprudential theories. Women's rights and women's legal status in politics, employment, education, and the family will be explored. Mutually Exclusive with PHIL 376 and GSWS 376.

JURI 390  Independent Study  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): Departmental approval. This course will provide students and faculty with flexibility within the existing academic structure. Students and faculty may collaborate to create a course of study which either supplements existing courses or fills in gaps that either student or faculty perceive in a student's curriculum. May be repeated once for a maximum of 6 credits.

JURI 474  Human Rights Law  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): JURI 210 or LAWS 200 or departmental approval. This course will provide an introductory study of the basic principles shaping Human Rights Law. Students will be required to analyze various legal opinions, statutes, treaties, conventions, and regulations in the context of real-world and hypothetical human rights issues. Traditional notions of Human Rights Law will be compared and contrasted with recent developments. In addition to the traditional methods of assessment, students will be responsible for preparing position papers in each phase of the class examining the jurisprudential issues related to this area of law.

JURI 495  Senior Research and Writing Seminar in Jurisprudence I  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): JURI 210 or LAWS 200; JURI 300; LAWS 302; and 3 additional courses in the major. This is the first semester of a year-long capstone Senior Research and Writing Seminar. During this semester students are prepared to carry out a major research project on a Jurisprudence-related topic that is completed during the second semester of this course. This course familiarizes students with the methods used in contemporary research in the humanities and social sciences. It complements the student's prior exposure to legal research.

JURI 496  Senior Research and Writing Seminar in Jurisprudence II  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): JURI 210 or LAWS 200; JURI 300; JURI 495; LAWS 302; and 3 additional courses in the major. This is the second semester of the year-long capstone Senior Research and Writing Seminar during which each student completes a major research project on a Jurisprudence-related topic and presents the project to the class. The work of this semester builds upon the preparatory study of research methodologies, topic selection, and literature review carried out in the first part of the year-long course.

JURI 499  Special Topics in Jurisprudence  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): JURI 210 or LAWS 200 or departmental approval. This course will explore aspects of Jurisprudence not covered in the curriculum or which deserve more in-depth treatment than that in an existing course. The specific topic will be announced each time the course is offered. May be repeated once for a total of 6 credits.