(from the proposal) The goal of the program is to increase the knowledge and experience base of students so that, whether in their roles as informed citizens or in their careers, they are better able to understand how the law affects society and is affected by it. This program is designed 1) to promote student understanding of the contemporary and  historical relationship between American society’s social norms and values and its efforts to a) define and ensure the rights and responsibilities of its members, and b) control its members informally and especially formally through the legal system and all aspects of the criminal justice system; 2) to grasp the role of the American legal system both in shaping  these norms and values and reflecting them as well as in legitimating and constraining the use of coercion and force in maintaining and creating social order; 3) to begin to understand the complex social, historical, economic and political contexts within which the life chances of diverse groups within American society are enhanced or diminished as a result of their interactions with the legal system and various institutions of informal and formal social control.

Approved by the Board of Trustees May 2017