Academic Catalog

Legal Studies

Bachelor of Arts

Michael Trotti, Professor, Department of History, and Coordinator of Legal Studies


Legal Studies is an interdisciplinary program that integrates critical and philosophical perspectives rooted in the liberal arts with practical and policy components. The Legal Studies program draws on courses offered by faculty from across the School of Humanities and Sciences, especially in the departments of politics, philosophy/religion, and sociology, as well as courses offered by faculty in the professional schools. Legal Studies majors and minors grapple with broad-reaching legal, constitutional, and social policy questions, especially those related to individual and communal rights, personal liberty, social justice and equality of opportunity, economic redistribution, and political representation, while paying close attention to the historical, theoretical, critical, and cultural foundations of law and policy.

The program seeks to prepare students for a wide array of positions in both the public and private sectors, as well as to qualify them for admission to graduate programs in a variety of fields. Legal Studies graduates follow a number of career paths, including graduate school in law, public administration, policymaking and compliance sectors, international and human rights governance, and other programs. Students are well prepared to begin employment in a range of professional fields, and many enter the workforce directly, sometimes deferring graduate school decisions. Law itself is a broad and diverse field, and the program provides students a solid theoretical grounding in the historical, theoretical, critical, and cultural foundations of law and policy while exposing them to a variety of areas of the discipline.

LGST 10100 Foundations in Law and Justice (LA)

Provides a critical, interdisciplinary, and comparative overview of the concepts of law and legality broadly defined. Illustrates how law and legal regimes are inextricably bound up with political, historical, economic, and sociocultural forces. By focusing on the dynamic relationship between law, justice, and power, the course looks at the ways that law can be used as a tool of social control, as well as ways that law can be employed as a site of resistance from which to produce social change. Law – and the links between law and justice – are examined in the national (American) and international or global contexts. The course is aimed at all students interested in questions of power, justice, governance, and society. LGST 10100 is required of all Legal Studies majors and minors. (F,Y)
Attributes: AN3
4 Credits

LGST 27500 Selected Topics in Legal Studies (LA)

Explores contemporary topics, concepts, and controversies in the field of law and society at the intermediate level. May be repeated for credit for a total of nine credits when topics vary. Prerequisites: Sophomore standing. (IRR)
Attributes: LSAP
1-3 Credits

LGST 30600 Criminal Law (NLA)

An introduction to topics in criminal law, criminal procedure, and criminal justice. Topics include the American court system; origins of law; elements of crimes; defenses to crimes; constitutional issues in criminal law; criminal procedure issues, including policy operations, arraignments, indictments, grand jury procedure, criminal trials, and appeals; and criminal justice issues, including "white- and blue-collar" crime, philosophies of crime and punishment, and crime in the workplace. An optional clinical component in the Tompkins County court system will be available. Prerequisites: LGST 10100 and one of CMST 12400, GBUS 20300, SOCI 20300, or TVR 12300. (F,S)
Attributes: LMAL, LMEL
3 Credits

LGST 30700 Environmental Law and Policy (LA)

A survey of environmental law and the policies and goals of key federal environmental statutes. Students will examine the role of the Environmental Protection Agency in implementing and enforcing environmental standards, as well as significant case law developments. Prerequisites: LGST 10100 and one of CMST 12400, GBUS 20300, SOCI 20300, or TVR 12300. (Y)
Attributes: ENSS, ENVE, ESPE, LMAL, LMEL
3 Credits

LGST 32000 Marketplace Regulation and Consumer Protection (NLA)

Discussion and in-depth study of the role of government in protecting the consumer and regulating marketplace practices. Seminar topics include the costs and effectiveness of the administrative law process, case studies of federal regulatory agencies, and recent developments in marketing and product liability law. Emphasis on research skills, and individual and group presentations. Prerequisites: LGST 10100 and one of CMST 12400, GBUS 20300, SOCI 20300, or TVR 12300. (Y)
Attributes: ENSS, ENVE, ESPE, LMAL, LMEL
3 Credits

LGST 32300 Legal Research Seminar: Investigating Law and Justice 'on the Ground' (LA)

Teaches students the fundamentals of qualitative social science research, with the aim of examining questions of law and legality, broadly defined. After providing a broad overview of qualitative research as conceived through the lens of social science – and a brief examination of the particular qualitative methods of [participant] observation and interviewing – the course turns to an empirical and qualitative examination of a series of interdisciplinary research studies on topics related to law and justice. This course is required for all Legal Studies majors. Prerequisites: LGST 10100. (Y)
Attributes: LMAL, LMEL
4 Credits

LGST 32410 Human Rights & Genocide (LA)

The course examines some of the key debates within the field of human rights, including debates between universalism and cultural relativity, and between individual and collective rights. It also looks at some of the main critiques of human rights: Does it matter if there is an international human rights regime if human rights are not enforced? In what ways can human rights be considered a colonialist enterprise? The course focuses in particular on the crime of genocide and attempts by individuals and groups to recover or seek justice in the wake of genocidal-type violence. Course is cross-listed with POLT 32410; students cannot earn credit for POLT 32410. Prerequisites: One 100-level LGST or POLT course. (S,Y)
4 Credits

LGST 37500-37501 Selected Topics in Legal Studies (LA)

Explores contemporary topics, concepts, and controversies in the field of law and society at an advanced level. Maybe be repeated for a total of eight credits when topics vary. Prerequisites: One LGST course at 100-level or above. (Y)
Attributes: AN3, LSAP
1-8 Credits

LGST 39700 Internship in Legal Studies (NLA)

Permits students to explore experiential law-related work in a variety of settings. Students are expected to perform work at an internship site, chosen in consultation with their faculty advisor, to keep a journal, and to submit, as part of their course obligations, a thorough written evaluative report based on their experiences. Internships may be taken at national, state, and local levels, in London under the auspices of the Ithaca College London Center, as well as in other international locations. Prerequisites: permission of instructor. (F,S,U,Y)
0.5-9 Credits