ANTH 2011 Religion, Environmentalism, and Politics (4 Credits)

How does religion mediate the relationship between people and the natural world? How do different religious traditions understand and interpret the natural world and humans’ responsibility to and for it? Is it possible to reconcile an understanding of the world as divinely created with human destruction of the environment—and, if not, then what are the political consequences? In this course, we will consider a variety of disciplinary approaches to topics related to religion, environmentalism, and politics, taking Abrahamic and indigenous religions as our key examples. From urban gardening to green Islam to Standing Rock to eco-feminism, we’ll use theories about religion and culture to understand the complex intersections of faith, policy, and planetary crisis. The course includes a community engagement component that will bring us to a local faith-based urban farm where we will discuss course texts as we help prepare for the 2020 growing season. Cross-listed with JUST 2011 and RLGS 2011.

ECON 2540 Law and Economics (4 Credits)

This course provides an introduction to the study of law and economics, the objective being to provide a critical examination of the nexus between economics and law. After establishing foundational concepts and definitions the course turns to an investigation of legal history, traditions and movements. For example, this will include examination of common law and civil law (code), the progressive era, legal realism, critical legal studies, the law and economics movement, critical race theory, and law and neoliberalism. An assessment of distinct approaches to law and economics from different economic perspectives will also be undertaken. The latter half of the course covers the economic dimensions to various sources or core areas of law including property, contract, tort, administrative, criminal and constitutional law. Additionally, certain special topics will be introduced and analyzed throughout the course, including the social and legal construction of markets; public finance and the economic role of government; the legal foundations of money; and, environmental, international, family, public, corporate, competition and antitrust law. The course also offers exposure to hands-on and practical factors concerning the profession and practice of law including legal terminology, precedent, reasoning, case review, writing and procedure.

ENVI 3000 Environmental Law (4 Credits)

Purpose and applications of federal laws pertaining to environmental protection, including NEPA, RCRA, CERCLA, and Clean Water and Clean Air Acts; addresses role of states in implementation of federal environmental laws.

HIST 1850 20th Century LGBTQ History in the United States (4 Credits)

This course uses a cultural history approach to explore the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer peoples in the “long twentieth century” (1880s-2010s) United States. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

JUST 2011 Religion, Environmentalism, and Politics (4 Credits)

How does religion mediate the relationship between people and the natural world? How do different religious traditions understand and interpret the natural world and humans’ responsibility to and for it? Is it possible to reconcile an understanding of the world as divinely created with human destruction of the environment—and, if not, then what are the political consequences? In this course, we will consider a variety of disciplinary approaches to topics related to religion, environmentalism, and politics, taking Abrahamic and indigenous religions as our key examples. From urban gardening to green Islam to Standing Rock to eco-feminism, we’ll use theories about religion and culture to understand the complex intersections of faith, policy, and planetary crisis. The course includes a community engagement component that will bring us to a local faith-based urban farm where we will discuss course texts as we help prepare for the 2020 growing season. Cross-listed with ANTH 2011 and RLGS 2011.

JUST 2012 Jewish Politics and Political Jews in the United States (4 Credits)

Milton Himmelfarb famously quipped that “Jews earn like Episcopalians, and vote like Puerto Ricans.” This statement captures the surprising loyalty of American Jews to liberalism and the Democratic party despite the group’s significant socioeconomic achievement in the post-World War II era. This course considers Jewish political behavior in the United States through a variety of disciplinary lenses. Our study will be enriched through archival research in the Beck archives (held at DU) and through conversations with local political figures. The course will also track and analyze relevant developments for Jews and politics related to the 2020 Presidential election. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society requirement for the Undergraduate Core Curriculum. Cross-listed with RLGS 2012.

LGST 3440 The Supreme Court & Your Life: Constitutional Law, Ethics & Policy for the 21st Century (2 Credits)

This course evaluates the most critical ways in which the United States Supreme Court interacts with and affects an individual’s life, career, education, freedom, and future. Over ten weeks, we analyze how: (1) each major section of the Constitution and how it makes its way to the Court, (2) is ultimately interpreted by each of the nine current Justices, and (3) the subsequent repercussions of the opinion. The primary vehicles used for this task are actual Supreme Court cases, federal circuit court opinions, and legal briefs filed by the parties and interest groups on both sides of each dispute. Each of these documents is part of the public record and easy to locate. Because many students are likely to hear, believe, and/or resonate with only one side of each politically-charged divisive case heard by the Court (perhaps because they listen to only one news source or affiliate primarily with people of the same ideological bent), this class will emphasize the importance of seeing both sides of important public policy, legal, and ethical issues before taking a position. This is a valuable skill that is often neglected in college courses but will take a student far in life.

LGST 3450 Impact of Driverless Mobility: Business, Legal & Ethical Implications (4 Credits)

Smartphones and personal computers have changed the world and how we live in it. Now, Driverless Vehicles are poised to profoundly reshape our transportation systems, real estate development, access to goods and services, and our collective ecological footprint. In our “Impact of Driverless Mobility” course, we will consider many of the broad implications of this disruptive technology, including, but not limited to, the many legal, ethical and business considerations. Prerequisite: LGST 2000.

MFJS 3040 Media Law (4 Credits)

Introduction to freedom of expression and media law. Students learn how the American legal system works and gain an understanding and appreciation of the philosophical foundations of free expression. In addition, students confront many of the issues facing professional communicators today. Topics include incitement, hate speech, student speech, copyright, defamation, and other issues crucial to mass media professionals. The course examines also explores challenges to free expression brought by new(er) communication technologies. The purpose of this class is to give students the knowledge and critical thinking skills needed to be successful in today’s rapidly changing communication environment. Cross-listed with MFJS 4300.

MFJS 3700 New Media Law & Regulation (4 Credits)

An examination of recent developments in internet and social media law and regulation.

PHIL 2040 Practical Logic (4 Credits)

In this course students will learn how to identify and understand real arguments, the kinds of arguments that they confront everyday in the media, textbooks and periodicals, in addition to those made in philosophical writings. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: The Natural and Physical World requirement.

PHIL 2150 Philosophy of Law (4 Credits)

Principles, aims and methods of legal reasoning (judicial decision making); relationship between legal and moral reasoning. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2180 Ethics (4 Credits)

Alternative theories of morals and values, ethical problems and solutions offered by classical and contemporary thinkers. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2700 Biomedical Ethics (4 Credits)

Discussion of some of the most pressing ethical issues engaged by contemporary developments in biology and medicine. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 3061 Kant's Ethics/Aesthetics/Politics (4 Credits)

A study of Kant's "value theory" and its historical significance. Prerequisite: junior standing or instructor's permission.

PHIL 3175 Morality and the Law (4 Credits)

A systematic study of various elements of the relation between law and morality. Are we obligated to obey every law the government enacts? Why? If we do have an obligation to obey the law, are civil disobedients like Martin Luther King, Jr. justified in disobeying the law? Are immoral laws, laws at all, or must a law connect with some higher moral truth to have any authority? To what extent is it morally permissible for the law to restrict our personal freedoms? To what extent is it morally permissible for the law to enforce morality in general? If it is not permissible for the law to enforce morality, do we incur any obligation to obey the law? Prerequisite: junior standing or instructor's permission.

PHIL 3179 Virtue Ethics (4 Credits)

Virtue ethics purportedly provides a distinct approach to moral deliberation, moral reasoning, moral decision-making, and moral justification. This course is a systematic study o the nature of virtue ethics, the nature of a virtue, and the alleged superiority of virtue ethics over its more familiar consequentialist and deontological alternatives. We also study various responses to the following questions: Have moral psychologists generated any valuable studies on the nature of virtue? What virtues ought we to endorse? At least Junior standing required or permission of the instructor.

PHIL 3211 Contemporary Pol Philosophy (4 Credits)

This class focuses primarily on the philosophical problems generated by thinking about political authority and justice. We discuss the nature of political authority, justice, rights, equality and the role of property in a modern state.

PLSC 1810 Introduction to Law and Society (4 Credits)

This course introduces the relationship between law and society, exploring principles of legal conduct in social contexts and explaining how social scientific methods are used to understand these principles. Questions discussed include what is the relationship between the “law-on-the-books” and “law-in-action,” and what can we learn from gaps between formal law and the “real” law that is experienced in society? Empirical examples may include international comparisons and the evolution of law over time. This course counts toward the Scientific Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PLSC 2001 Law and Politics (4 Credits)

Introduces the relationship between law and politics, describing the basic principles of legal conduct in political contexts and explaining how social scientific methods are used to understand these underlying principles. Questions explored may include the following: Where does the law come from? Whose interests does it reflect? Does formal legal change lead to practical political and social change? Why do we comply with the law? What are the limits of enforcement? This course counts toward the Scientific Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. It also satisfies the department distribution requirement in law. Prerequisite: sophomore standing & either PLSC 1000, 1110, 1610, or 1810.

PLSC 2002 Abortion Politics and Law (4 Credits)

Abortion has been, and continues to be, a defining issue in America politics and law. As the traditional story goes, the country has been locked in a high-stakes and highly controversial fight over abortion since the Supreme Court legalized access in 1973 via the Roe v. Wade decision. While a convenient story, it egregiously oversimplifies both the past and present of abortion politics and law. This class aims to explore the cyclical and complex relationship between law and politics of abortion in America: how it came to become a national issue; how and why its contours have changed over time; what effects it has had on people’s lives and the country’s politics; and how we can constructively think about the new, post-Roe US. In doing so, we will also consider how the case study of abortion can inform our more general understandings of American politics, law, movements, and political parties.

PLSC 2100 Political Psychology of Identity (4 Credits)

This course introduces you to the interdisciplinary field of political psychology with a focus on exploring the various foundations of social identity and the implications of these identities for political outcomes in the United States. Throughout the quarter, we’ll compare the influence of different identities and examine the psychological and political implications of social identities. The class focuses on two key identities: gender and race. We’ll examine the psychological foundations of gender and racial stereotyping and prejudice, how race influences perceptions of the criminal justice system, and the ways in which White identity shapes citizens behavior and opinion in American politics. We finish the quarter with a focus on new, emerging scholarship that further complicates the relationships between human psychology and gender and racial identity.

PLSC 2703 Topics in Law and Politics (4 Credits)

Focuses on topics in law from a political science perspective. Satisfies departmental distribution requirement in law. Prerequisite: sophomore standing.

PLSC 2755 Legal Actors and Institutions (4 Credits)

This course examines the legal system from the points of view of those who work within it. It considers the social characteristics of lawyers, judges, regulators, elected officials and non-state actors, and how they matter to the social construction of law. The emphasis is on the social organization of law and the everyday interactions that bring meaning to the legal system. It considers and seeks to understand how legal roles, legal institutions and power relations within the law influence its development and practice. Throughout the course, students are required to think critically about how society and the social relationships of law influence law's outcomes. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

PLSC 2820 Constitutional Law: Civil Rights and Liberties (4 Credits)

This course addresses major ideas and principles of U.S. constitutional law, with a focus on equal protection of the law, fundamental rights, and freedom of speech and religion. Within each of these areas, we will consider the development of court rulings over time, economic and political influences on court decision-making, and policy implications of these rulings. While PLSC 2860 complements this course, it is not necessary to take both courses. Satisfies the department distribution requirement in law. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

PLSC 2830 Judicial Politics (4 Credits)

This course considers the role of courts, especially the Supreme Court, in the U.S. political system. Topics include the the potential dangers and benefits of allocating significant power to un-elected justices, judicial decision-making, Court-Congress interaction in developing public policies, the social and political effects of court rulings, and legal interest groups.

PLSC 2840 International Law & Human Rights (4 Credits)

This course explores the role that international law plays in promoting human rights. Why did states first commit to international human rights protections after the Second World War? Why did states voluntarily surrender their sovereignty by signing and ratifying human rights treaties that limit their freedom to act domestically? Does this international law influence governments’ human rights practices? Who enforces international human rights law? Which countries are leaders or laggards when it comes to international human rights? This course can count toward the sub-field requirement for PLSC majors in either law or comparative/international politics.

PLSC 2850 Politics of Criminal Justice in the US (4 Credits)

Problems and reforms in American criminal justice system; causes and extent of crime, excessive use of force by police, systemic racism, bail reform, probation and parole; prisons and police/community relations. Prerequisite: sophomore standing.

PLSC 2855 Conservative Politics and the Courts (4 Credits)

This course focuses on the reasons for and uses of litigation and judicial politics in the pursuit of conservative ends. As such, the class critically examines the different major sub-groups that define modern American conservatism; how these subgroups compare to and interact with one another; the conditions that allow for political movements generally to use courts in pursuing policy ends; and the specific steps that various American conservative groups have taken in order to influence courts, law, and policy. Introduction to American Politics (PLSC 1000) is recommended, but not required.

PLSC 2860 Constitutional Law: Governmental Structures and Powers (4 Credits)

This course addresses major ideas and principles of U.S. constitutional law, with a focus on federalism, the growth of national power, and separation of powers. Within each of these areas, we will consider the development of court rulings over time, economic and political influences on court decision-making, and policy implications of these rulings. While PLSC 2820 complements this course, it is not necessary to take both courses. Satisfies the department distribution requirement in law. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

PLSC 2870 Theories of Law (4 Credits)

Approaches to law, courts and judges focusing of various theories of law including legal realism, feminist legal theory, law and society, law and economics, behavioralism. Prerequisite: sophomore standing.

PLSC 2880 Comparative Constitutional Politics (4 Credits)

Many fear that democracy is in decline, in the US and around the world. Citizens in the US and many other countries look to judicial review of written constitutions as a way to preserve democracy while protecting rights. Yet can judges serve effectively as guardians of democracy or rights? Do US-style “checks and balances” violate the “separation of powers” when judges declare that laws – approved by elected representatives in the legislative and executive branches – are unconstitutional and must be overturned? Does this approach of “constitutionalism” create a “juristocracy” – government by judges – that is incompatible with representative democracy? In this course, we examine constitutional politics comparatively, (1) exploring why constitutionalism spread widely during the postwar and post-Cold war eras and (2) analyzing its implications for contemporary democracies and their citizens. As a course in the sub-field of comparative and international politics, cases from outside the US will be the focus of our inquiry, with the US discussed in comparative perspective.

PLSC 3985 Legal Internship (4 Credits)

This is an online class for students working in internships related to the legal profession. Students may work in the local courts, advocacy organizations, the public defender’s office, or the district attorney’s office, either in Denver or elsewhere in the U.S. Students will complete internship hours in addition to engaging in an online course that focuses on professional development, reflections on the internship experience, and relevant legal scholarship. Students are responsible for applying to and securing their own internships (with assistance from the professor), and should plan to begin this process early, typically in advance of registration.

PSYC 2610 Forensic Psychology (4 Credits)

Scientific study of the the intersection of human behavior and the legal process. Prerequisite: PSYC 1001.

RLGS 2011 Religion, Environmentalism, and Politics (4 Credits)

How does religion mediate the relationship between people and the natural world? How do different religious traditions understand and interpret the natural world and humans’ responsibility to and for it? Is it possible to reconcile an understanding of the world as divinely created with human destruction of the environment—and, if not, then what are the political consequences? In this course, we will consider a variety of disciplinary approaches to topics related to religion, environmentalism, and politics, taking Abrahamic and indigenous religions as our key examples. From urban gardening to green Islam to Standing Rock to eco-feminism, we’ll use theories about religion and culture to understand the complex intersections of faith, policy, and planetary crisis. The course includes a community engagement component that will bring us to a local faith-based urban farm where we will discuss course texts as we help prepare for the 2020 growing season. Cross-listed with ANTH 2011 and JUST 2011.

RLGS 2012 Jewish Politics and Political Jews in the United States (4 Credits)

Milton Himmelfarb famously quipped that “Jews earn like Episcopalians, and vote like Puerto Ricans.” This statement captures the surprising loyalty of American Jews to liberalism and the Democratic party despite the group’s significant socioeconomic achievement in the post-World War II era. This course considers Jewish political behavior in the United States through a variety of disciplinary lenses. Our study will be enriched through archival research in the Beck archives (held at DU) and through conversations with local political figures. The course will also track and analyze relevant developments for Jews and politics related to the 2020 Presidential election. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society requirement for the Undergraduate Core Curriculum. Cross-listed with JUST 2012.

SOCI 2120 Methods of Socio-Legal Inquiry (4 Credits)

This course provides a broad overview of socio-legal research methods. Specifically, the course examines how qualitative and quantitative research methods are used to answer socio-legal research questions. Students participate in research in order to understand the process of designing a project, collecting data, analyzing data, and reporting findings.

SOCI 2250 Criminology (4 Credits)

Social meaning of criminal behavior; relationship between crime and society in particular, how production and distribution of economic, political and cultural resources shape construction of law, order and crime; different types of crime, criminals and victims, and efforts to understand and control them. This course counts toward the Scientific Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

SOCI 2622 Deportation Nation (4 Credits)

This service-learning course examines the nexus of the criminal justice and immigration—or, crimmigration—system. Through a scholarly analysis situated of the historical, social, and political processes that have informed contemporary immigration law and policy, the course focuses on the shift to enhanced enforcement, detention, and mass deportation. Prerequisite: SOCI 1810.

SOCI 2750 Sociology of Law (4 Credits)

Overview of theory and research about relationship between law and society; legal rules, roles, organizations and inter-institutional relations; activities of legal profession, courts, juries, legislatures and regulatory agencies. Prerequisite: SOCI 1810 or permission of instructor.

SOCI 2760 Discipline and Punishment (4 Credits)

Institutional mechanisms for imposing discipline and for punishing wayward individuals and groups; contradictory social objectives of punishment and corrections; organizational settings for administering punishment and identifying predominant institutional routines in coercive environments. Prerequisite: SOCI 1810 or permission of instructor.

SOCI 2765 The Female Offender (4 Credits)

Female offenders are one of the fastest growing segments in both the juvenile and adult justice systems. This course introduces students to debates and issues surrounding girls, women, and crime; explores different theoretical perspectives of gender and crime; and examines the impact of gender on the construction and treatment of female offenders by the justice system. In addition, this course specifically looks at girls' and women's pathways to offending and incarcerations; understanding girls' violence in the inner city; exploring the reality of prison life for women, with a particular focus on the gender-sensitive programming for incarcerated mothers; and ending with an examination of how capital punishment has affected women offenders historically and contemporarily. Cross listed with GWST 2765. Prerequisite: SOCI 1810 or permission of instructor.

SOCI 2770 Kids and Courts (4 Credits)

This course examines how American society has responded to the problem of at-risk and delinquent youth in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The primary focus will be on the juvenile court's and the encompassing juvenile justice system's efforts to address this problem. The court's and the system's ameliorative attempts to help at-risk children/adolescents as well as their more punitive policies directed at serious and violent young offenders will be investigated. Differences in juvenile court policies and practices over time and across jurisdictions (both in the United States and in other countries) will be considered. Prerequisite: SOCI 1810 or permission of instructor.

SOCI 2775 Wrongful Conviction (4 Credits)

The criminal justice system was once considered infallible--innocent people did not end up in prison. But DNA evidence has revealed that innocents are incarcerated and perhaps even executed. This course focuses on the prevalence of wrongful conviction; the harms caused by wrongful conviction; the causes of wrongful conviction; strategies for reducing wrongful conviction; and the prospect of compensating the wrongfully convicted. Prerequisite: SOCI 1810 or permission of instructor.

SOCI 2780 Women and the Law (4 Credits)

This course explores the relationship between women and the law, looking at the way the categories of sex and gender have been produced and re-produced through law. Through a look at case law and sociological research, students will examine women as bodies, workers and family members. This course also explores the development and current status of American law in the areas of women's constitutional equality, pay equity and equal opportunity, women's access to education, women in the workplace and violence against women. Cross listed with GWST 2780. Prerequisite: SOCI 1810 or permission of the instructor.

SOCI 2785 Family and the Law (4 Credits)

The government is actively involved in deciding who gets to be a family and what families should look like. The state and its laws are involved in shaping family life, making decisions for family members, and mediating familial conflict. This course looks at the appropriate role of the state in family life by examining state legislation and court decisions and social research on a variety of topics. Cross listed with GWST 2785. Prerequisite: SOCI 1810 or permission of instructor.

SOCI 2790 Policing Society (4 Credits)

Emergence and development of police organizations and tactics; factors that influence policing styles and objectives; historical precedents; policing the street; policing the board room; policing the world; and policing everyday life. Prerequisite: SOCI 1810 or permission of instructor.

SOCI 2795 Capital Punishment (4 Credits)

This course examines three main topics: the history of capital punishment (facts and trends, public opinion, legislation, and landmark Supreme Court cases); arguments often made for abolition (arbitrariness, cost, and innocence); and arguments often made for retention (deterrence, incapacitation, and retribution). Prerequisite: SOCI 1810 or permission of instructor.

SOCI 2820 Drugs and Society (4 Credits)

Relationship between drug use, drug control and social contexts; various sociological themes relating to use and control of drugs in American society. Prerequisite: SOCI 1810 or permission of instructor.

SOCI 2825 Sexualities and the Law (4 Credits)

This course provides an overall conceptual and applied understanding of sexualities (sexual identities, relationships, behavior, and choices), law, and punishment in the United States. All of the following areas will be examined: sexual minorities’ rights (with a focus on marriage equality) and relationships; reproductive regulation; sex industry; pornography; and responses to sex offenses (with a focus on responses to college sexual assault). Students in this course will identify the ways legislation and the courts define and regulate sexualities in society. Prerequisite: SOCI 1810.