Introduction to Law: Law and Society It will explore the nature of laws, some social systems, actors and legal reasoning as developed along social changes. Emphasis will be placed upon the different perspectives by which law is thought and applied. The course will not cover all the aspects of the legal system but a set of topics has been selected in order to provide a general understanding of the nature of law and society and how those two terms interrelate and influence each other. .

Course Goals & Outcomes

To cultivate an understanding in students of the philosophical origins of law.

That students should recognize key features of the U.S. and U.K. constitutional frameworks.

For students to grasp key features criminal, tort and contract law, as well as the operation of the jury system.

That students recognize the paradigmatic shift that has occurred in legal discourse and practice since the events of September 11

That students should participate in a mock trial.

Overall, that students should be able to comfortably discuss key legal issues of our times.