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Legal Studies Minor

Overview

The minor in Legal Studies is an 18-unit course of study that examines law as a social institution from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. Students choosing this minor:

If you're interested in pursuing a Legal Studies minor, obtain a minor form from the Communication Studies, Justice Studies, or Political Science Departments, and meet with one of the designated Legal Studies advisor in those departments:

Communication Studies
Prof. Dennis Jaehne HGH 108 924-5360 djaehne@sjsu.edu
Justice Studies
Prof. Ann Lucas (Fall only) MH 508A 924-2914 alucas@casa.sjsu.edu
Prof. Mona Lynch MH 509 924-2958 mlynch@email.sjsu.edu
Prof. Richard Perry MH 525 924-1337 rperry@email.sjsu.edu
Political Science
Prof. James Brent BT 462 924-5572 jcbrent@email.sjsu.edu

Requirements

This is an 18-unit minor, comprised of one required core course, and five electives selected from five course groups. In order to ensure that your legal studies education is broad and interdisciplinary, only one of the five electives can be taken from your major department (if applicable). Faculty Minor advisors may approve substitutions in appropriate cases. The course requirements, groupings, and choices are as follows:

  1. Core course (required for all students) - PolS 120, Law and Society
  2. Electives: Students choose one course from each of the following five groups:
    1. Perspectives on Law:
      • Econ 141, Law and Economics
      • EnvS/PolS 124, Introduction to Environmental law
      • Phil 155, Philosophy of Law
    2. Contemporary Issues in Law and Justice:
      • AfAm 142, Law and the Black Community
      • JS 115, Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice
      • JS 122, Drugs and Society
      • JS 132, Race, Gender, Inequality and the Law
      • JS 133, Terrorism, Intelligence, and Security
      • MAS 127, Chicanas/os and the Criminal Justice System
      • Soci 151 Violence in the Family
    3. Legal History:
      • AfAm 134, Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement
      • Hist 171, American Constitutional and Legal History
      • MdES 108, Talmud to Kabbalah
      • PolS 121A, The Supreme Court: Constitutional Law
      • PolS 121B, Civil Liberties: Constitutional Law
    4. Law and Ethics:
      • Comm 133F, Ethical Problems in Communication
      • MCom 101, Laws and Ethics of the Media
      • Phil 186, Professional and Business Ethics (cross-listed in Bus and JS)
    5. Laws and the Courts:
      • Comm 147P, Argumentation and Persuasion in Courts of Law
      • JS 103, Courts and Society
      • PolS 122, Judicial Politics

Other recommended law-related courses (not required for completion of the Legal Studies minor) offered at SJSU include: Bus 151, Labor Relations; Comm 130F, Social Movements Communication; Comm 140P, Argumentation and Debate; JS 111, Special Topics in Law and Justice; JS 120, Juvenile Justice; JS 135, White Collar Crime; JS 136, Family and Community Violence; PolS 105, The Legislative Process; Soci 152, The Youth Offender; Soci 154, Sociology and Nonconforming Behavior; Soci 155, Victimology.

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