This course provides an overview of civil rights law through the historical lens of the Modern Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968), as well as examination of contemporary movements for social change. The course will examine influence of direct-action campaigns on the federal judicial system.

While the United States continues to house more prisoners per capita than any country in the world, there is also growing momentum around criminal justice reform. This course will highlight the roles and interests of key stakeholders in the criminal justice system—including prosecutors, police, sheriffs, correctional officers, and private prison executives—to assess prospects for and resistance to reform. We will also consider a broader, comparative frame, situating the U.S. criminal justice system in a global context.

This course provides an introduction to International Criminal Law (“ICL”). Essential topics include the nature, scope, and purpose of ICL, and the broader goal of ending impunity for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. Students will learn how the definition of each crime came about and has evolved to facilitate investigation and prosecution in times of crisis and conflict.

This course provides students with an understanding of the history and procedure of the United Nations charter and treaty-based system, as well as exposure to the relevant criticisms surrounding the political nature and the institutional framework of the United Nations that shapes the promotion and protection of human rights within the system. The course will also discuss how the universal human rights system reflects normative human rights within the individual complaints heard by the Human Rights Council and related treaty-bodies.

This course surveys tensions between human rights interests and national security imperatives as well as the extent to which such might be reconciled placing emphasis on but not limited to the period since the September 11, 2001. A two-credit course that will explore aspects of U.S.

This course will help students recognize and develop their leadership potential, for both future employment and within their communities at large. Students will engage in guided self-examination to identify interests, strengths, and potential areas for growth. Leaders from various fields of practice will share their leadership experiences, informing students of the opportunities available to them and providing advice for building the skills necessary to obtain and succeed in those opportunities.

(6 credits in fall/spring; 3 credits in summer)
S/U only; fulfills Skills Training requirement

This seminar examines the modern American jury, a controversial entity that empowers average citizens to participate in legal decision making. Proponents of trials by jury defend them as evidence of our shared commitment to democracy and liberty. Critics argue, however, that juries are “the apotheosis of the amateur” and are often incompetent, irrational, and biased (both overtly and subconsciously).

(S/U)

Prerequisites: Conversational Spanish skills are required. Listening, speaking, reading and writing at an intermediate level of proficiency is preferred.

This seminar will examine a series of legal issues raised by (1) the flow of personal information through social media, (2) the emergence of business models that make money from those information flows, and (3) the role of social media companies as information gatekeepers. Together we will explore the interplay of law (like the rights and freedoms the media enjoy under the First Amendment), and ethics (the professional responsibilities that historically have cabined the exercise of these rights).