Consortium on Undergraduate Law and Justice Programs

 

 

Program Name:  Law, Societies, and Justice (LSJ)

 

Institutional Affiliation:

              University of Washington, a large public research institution

                                   

Program Description/Mission:

The undergraduate Bachelor of Arts major in Law, Societies, and Justice provides students an interdisciplinary liberal arts education focusing on the unique forms of social control, institutionalized disputing, and justice that we identify with law or legality. Courses inquire into the historically embedded principles and institutional practices associated with diverse legal domains --- constitutional, criminal, administrative, and civil law as well as fundamental human rights -- in the United States and throughout much of the world. The program encourages complex assessments of the workings and implications of law in society according to standards that are both internal and external to the rule of law itself. The subfield-based curriculum is committed to cultivating basic analytical, writing, and communication skills as much as specialized knowledge and understanding about the diverse socio-legal subject matter. Graduates of the program pursue a wide diversity of career lines directly or indirectly related to law, including: the legal profession; legal administration (courts, corrections, probation and parole, etc.); law enforcement (police, FBI, etc.); government and politics; public policy development and management; academic research and teaching.

 

Organizational Profile

LSJ founded in 2001 (replaced earlier program founded in 1974)

6 tenure-track appointed faculty; 6 adjuncts; 3 temporary instructors

125 majors; 25 minors

Independent program, but shares administrative staff w/ Political Science

Affiliated with Comparative Law and Society Studies Center, CLASS Graduate Fellows Program

           

Curriculum Overview:

4 core courses, 1 methods course, 1 internship, 1 senior seminar required; minimum 4 electives, with at least two in any one subfield

3 Subfields: Crime, Social Control, & Justice; Comparative Legal Institutions and Politics; Rights, Resistances, and Reconstructions in Law

Internship course required

            Senior thesis optional

            Senior capstone seminar required

            Honors option available – involves extra seminar, senior honors thesis

           

 

 

Most Distinctive or Innovative Features:

            Interdisciplinary faculty integrates different social sciences, humanities, law

            Strong emphasis on comparative cross-national and global studies

            Human rights courses, track, and minor offered

            Emphasis on studying law “from bottom up” as well as legal elites

            Strong social theory orientation

            Outstanding faculty of scholar-teachers (very high student evaluations)

 

Program Development History or Challenges:

Built almost entirely from scratch as cutting edge “law and society” program, replacing previous criminology-focused program

Linkages across campus are strength and challenge

            Integration of graduate students and research mission essential

             

Contact Information:

            Director:                                   Michael McCann                     

            Academic Coordinator:             Mark Weitzenkamp

            Address:                                   Box 353530

                                                            University of Washington

                                                            Seattle, WA  98195

            Phone:                                      206.543.2396

            Website:                                   http://depts.washington.edu/class/lsj.html

            Email:                                       lsjadv@u.washington.edu

            Fax:                                          206.685.2146