LAW,
POLITICS, AND SOCIETY
Web Resources in
Law, Politics, and Society
Drake University offers a major in Law,
Politics, and Society (LPS) through the College of Arts and
Sciences. The Major in Law, Politics and Society is designed to prepare
students for effective, responsible and informed participation in a democratic
society. Students follow a
curriculum oriented towards the study of the relationships among law, politics,
and social continuity and change. The major is not intended to be a
pre-professional training program in law.
However, Law schools desire students who undertake a rigorous curriculum
emphasizing reading, writing, and critical thinking skills, and this major is
designed to fulfill these objectives.
The program should appeal to students interested in careers in public
policy and public service as well as those students with a general interest in
public life and the liberal arts.
Oversight for the program is provided by an
interdisciplinary Advisory Board drawn from the core departments affiliated
with the program including: History, Philosophy &
Religion, Politics
and International Relations, and the Department for the Study of Culture
and Society. Advising for the major is divided among faculty in these core
departments. Several courses from the Drake University Law School
may be used to fulfill major requirements. You may contact the current Chair of
the Advisory Board, William
Lewis, for more information about the program.
The Major in Law, Politics and Society
requires a minimum of 42 credit hours. Majors must complete the requisite
number of courses in each of the following categories. Several courses are
listed as options in more than one category. Students may count each course
towards only one major requirement. A number of other courses may be used
to fulfill the requirements for each category. Students should consult
with their advisors for approval of courses not listed here.
I.
Core Courses: The core courses
for the major in Law, Politics, and Society are designed to provide
programmatic coherence to an interdisciplinary major with a wide array of
course options. Students must take one introductory course which will introduce
them to themes related to Law, Politics, and Society. First-year seminars on
these topics will be designated as options for this requirement. Other
introductory level courses will be offered as options as well. Students also
will take an intermediate level core course titled Law, Politics, and Society.
Finally, students will be required to take a senior capstone seminar. The
specific content of the senior capstone course may vary from year to year but
will explore general themes related to the study of Law, Politics, and Society.
A. Introductory Course (Complete 1
of the following courses)
RHET 024 Rhetoric
as Liberal Art
SOC 016 Introduction
to Sociology: The Quest for Civil Society
Each year,
relevant first-year seminars may be designated as options fulfilling this
requirement. You should consult with your advisor about first year seminar
options.
For Fall 2002,
the following First Year Seminars will fulfill the introductory course
requirement:
FYS 005 Law and Literature
FYS 016 Logical Tools for Making Sense of the World
FYS 019 Quest for Punitive
Justice
FYS 025 American Character and Society
FYS 027 The Nature of Disagreement
B. Intermediate Seminar
(Students
must complete the following course during their sophomore or junior year)
LPS 100 Law, Politics, and Society
C. Senior Capstone
(Senior
status required)
LPS 190 Seminar in Law, Politics, and Society
II. Law and Public Life: Liberal societies based on the rule of law are
characterized by the creation of laws within democratic political institutions,
the rigorous interpretation of those laws, and the application of those
interpretations in practice as they affect issues of public policy and
individuals and groups in society. Students should be familiar with the
particulars of the law, the impact of the law on controversial policy issues,
and the political institutions that make and implement the law. Accordingly,
students must complete the requisite number of courses in each of the following
categories:
A. Law (Complete 3 courses)
BLAW 60
Business Law
ECON 117 Economics of Law and Discrimination
ECON 137 Economic Analysis of the Law
ENV 052/
POLS 052 Digital Citizenship
JMC
104 Communication Law and Ethics
POLS 153 Judicial Politics
POLS 170 International Law
POLS 190 Constitutional Law
RHET 140 Communication and Law
WS 195 Women and Law
LPS 020 Mock Trial
LAW 248 Civil Rights Law*
LAW 330 Sexuality and the Law*
*These
courses are offered by the Drake University Law School. A
limited
number of seats are open to upper-level undergraduates with
the
permission of the instructor and if spaces are available.
B. Public Policy, Social Issues, and the
Legislative Process (Complete 2 courses)
ECON 109 Public Economics
ECON 115 Labor Economics
ECON 129 Urban Economics
ENV 110 National Environmental Policy
ENV 191 Environmental Science and Policy
Practicum
POLS 112 Women and Politics
POLS 130 State Government and Administration
POLS 132 Iowa State Government and Administration
POLS 152 Congress and the Legislative Process
POLS 155 American
Public Policy
POLS 156/
ENV 150 Environmental Politics and Policy
SOC 080
Social Problems
SOC 140 Youth and Crime
SOC 151 Criminology
SOC 170 Deviance
SOC 164 Aging and Society
SOC 165 Urban Sociology
SOC 175 Social Stratification
SOC 183 Gender Inequality
III. Historical Context: Students should understand the historical foundations
of liberal institutions of law and government, and of conceptions of democratic
citizenship. They should be able to locate contemporary American society in
relation to past periods in their own and other societies that have
incorporated these institutions and conceptions. Students must complete two
courses from the following list:
HIST 041 Ancient Greece
HIST 042 Ancient Rome
HIST 110 The Era of the American Revolution, 1763-1789
HIST 112 Civil War and Reconstruction
HIST 113 America as a World Power
HIST 133 19th Century Europe
HIST 190 Seminar in American History
RHET 110 American Public Address
IV. Comparative and Global Context: National laws and politics are integrally shaped by
the dominant cultures of respective nation-states, and international law and
politics fundamentally reflect the cultural values of the most powerful nations
in world politics. The course options in this section provide students with
opportunities to study legal and/ or political frameworks from other countries
as well as varying cultural perceptions regarding the authoritative sources of
law and political legitimacy. Students must complete two of the following
courses:
All International Relations courses over 100: POLS 120-29,, 160-79.
HIST 123 Modern Mexico
HIST 127 Modern China
REL/ PHIL 190-150 Latin American Studies Travel Seminar
SOC 130 Contemporary Chinese Society
V. Social and Ethical Context: Law and policy are the end products of political
struggles and are shaped fundamentally by the competing values of the various
political and social actors involved in these struggles. Students who pursue
the Major in Law, Politics, and Society will reflect on the ways in which
questions of values shape law and policy. They will examine the moral
dimensions of laws and politics. The course options in this category are
designed to give students the tools for making informed choices and acting as effective
citizens. Students must take two of the following courses:
ECON 109 Public Economics
ENG 168 Storytelling as a Social Practice
ENV 157 Environmental Justice
PHIL 090 Ethics
PHIL 112 Social Philosophy
POLS 173 Human Rights and World Politics
POLS 180 Classical Political Theory
POLS 181 Modern Political Theory
POLS 185 American Political Theory
REL 155 Voices from the Underside: Liberation Theology*
SOC 112 Morality and Society