LEGAL STUDIES CORE

Take the following courses:

PS-101 Introduction to U.S. Government

An introduction to the theory and practice of United States government. The course surveys the underlying structure of U.S. politics, its economic, cultural and legal foundations and the daily practice of politics, e.g. groups, parties, and the mass media.

4 CreditsS, WK-SIPre- or Co-requisite: FYC-101

PS-110 Exploring the Law

An introduction to the legal profession, exploring the process of applying to law school, the variety of jobs in law, and how an undergraduate program can best prepare students for success.

1 Credit  

PS-190A Mock Trial

A study of elements related to the preparation of a trial through the Mock Trial setting governed by the American Mock Trial Association. Students will learn the preparation of pleadings, applicable case law to the case presented, and obtain knowledge of the Rules of Evidence. Each year, Mock Trial is offered as PS-190A during the fall semester for 3 credits and PS-190B during the spring semester for 1 credit.

3 CreditsCS 

PS-190B Mock Trial

A study of elements related to the preparation of a trial through the Mock Trial setting governed by the American Mock Trial Association. Students will learn the preparation of pleadings, applicable case law to the case presented, and obtain knowledge of the Rules of Evidence. Each year, Mock Trial is offered as PS-190A during the fall semester for 3 credits and PS-190B during the spring semester for 1 credit.

1 CreditCS 

EB-203  Introduction to Business Law

An introduction to the American legal system as it applies to the business community. Emphasis is on basic legal concepts in contracts, real and personal property, agency and employment, and transaction of business through partnerships and corporations. 

3 CreditsS 

PL-105  Introduction to Logic

An analysis of practical reasoning skills, including a systematic approach to informal arguments and the meaning of everyday claims. Aristotelian logic, Venn Diagrams, propositional logic and symbolic logic are included.

4 CreditsH,WK-FR 


LEARNING ABOUT THE LAW

Complete at least 17 credits from the following courses:

EB-105  International Economic Issues

Understanding international economics is increasingly important for private and public decision-makers. In a world of growing economic interdependence, the ability of policy makers to provide a stable environment for business is a key issue. Accordingly, this course develops the principle topics of international economics, including trade theory, the balance of payments, the cause and consequences of exchange rate movements, the flow of capital, currency crises and regional trade issues. The applied topics emphasized will be based on the most pressing current issues.

3 CreditsS,I

EB-204  Legal Regulation of Business

Examines the areas in which by statute the legislative branch of government regulates business. Topics include anti-trust law, bankruptcy, consumer protection, securities laws and the uniform commercial code. 

3 CreditsSPrerequisite: Sophomore standing. 

EB-379  Bargaining and Conflict Management

Bargaining and Conflict Management provides students with an opportunity to learn about bargaining and conflict-management theory. Students will have the opportunity to explore and apply this theory, and to examine aspects of bargaining style, in a variety of bargaining simulations. The course will also have an international component by utilizing international bargaining simulations as an instructional tool. 

3 CreditsS,CSPrerequisite: EB202 or PACS202. 

ESS-337 Environmental Law

This course will examine the major environmental laws in the United States and major Supreme Court cases covering these statutes. The status covered will be National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), The Clean Water Act (CWA), The Clean Air Acr (CAA), The Endangered Species Act (ESA), Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), and The Toxic Substances Control Act (TOSCA), The Forest Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), and the Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act (SARA).

3 CreditsS, CTGISPrerequisites: ESS-100 or PS-110. Must have sophomore standing or above.

EN-272 Introduction to Professional Writing

This course covers the types of writing used in the professional and business world, with attention to deciding when to use which type, or whether to use writing at all. Also concentrates on effectively addressing different audiences. The course will also cover the use of graphics, from basic concepts through effective design and adjusting to audience and situation. 

4 CreditsH, CWPrerequisite: First-year or sophomore standing. Juniors and Seniors by instructor permission.

HS-400 Crimes Against Humanity

This course explores the emergence, evolution, varieties, underlying causes, and means of confronting and coming to terms with genocide and other crimes against humanity. During the course of the semester, we will examine a range of historical contexts and we will also confront tough questions about ethics, resistance, and responsibility. 

4 CreditsI, HPrerequisites: Junior or Senior standing. Sophomores require permission.

PS-102 Introduction to International Politics

Analyzes the principles and practice of international relations and the foreign policy of the United States, political, diplomatic, military and economic.

4 CreditsS, I, SW-GE

PS-155 Lobbying

Students learn about lobbying in the United States and Pennsylvania, including the national and state constitutional provisions that permit and restrain lobbying. Students study and discuss lobbying techniques and ethics and the place of lobbying in the broader context of American and Pennsylvanian politics. Students will practice their lobbying skills both in class and in Harrisburg.

1 CreditS 

PS-311 Constitutional Interpretation: Powers of Government

An examination of the three branches of government, their constitutional powers, and the limitations on those powers as interpreted by Supreme Court. Special attention is given to the areas of delegated and concurrent powers. The operation of the Supreme Court and the Federal court system are also reviewed. 

4 CreditsHPrerequisites: PS101 or permission.

PS-312 Constitutional Interpretation: Civil Rights

Examines citizen's rights and liberties which the Constitution protects against infringement by the government. Those freedoms enumerated in the Bill of Rights are reviewed as well as the right to privacy, due process, and equal protection.

4 CreditsH, CWPrerequisites: PS101 or permission.

PS-313 Congress and Presidency

Examines the intellectual and constitutional foundations of Congress and the Presidency, and the evolution of their powers and responsibilities. The course also explores how, through cooperation and confrontation, the institutions make decisions about war and peace, spending, and taxation. 

4 CreditsS, CWPrerequisite: PS101.

PS-320 Topics Political Philos & Jurisprudence

Examines specific topics in the area of political philosophy and law. Topics will include " Foundations of American Constitutionalism, " " African-American Social and Political Thought, " " Liberalism, " and " Shakespeare's Politics. " Students may take each course for credit.

3 CreditsH 

PS-334 Human Rights

This class focuses on some of the debates concerning human rights: realism versus idealism; individualism versus communitarianism; universalism versus relativism; religious fundamentalism versus secularism; women's rights as human rights; liberalism versus socialism. We review the historical evolution of human rights. We devote part of the semester to the role of literature and the arts in creating and promoting human rights. 

3 CreditsI, SPrerequisite: PS102.

PS-490 Legal & Public Affairs Internship

An opportunity to apply concepts and theories learned in class and readings to a practical situation. Selected students work with chief administrative officers in State College and Huntingdon, police departments, environmental departments, legal offices or in the Court House. Note: may be repeated up to a total of 9 hours credit. 

2-9 CreditsSCorequisite: PS495. Prerequisite: permission and Jr. or Sr. Standing.

PS-495 Politics Internship Seminar

The emphasis is on connecting the internship experience with student’s Juniata coursework.  Students will develop the knowledge, skills, and ethical perspectives they need to engage effectively with the local communities through meaningful contributions and reflection.

2-6 CreditsS, SW-LECo-Requisite: PS-490 or PS-491, or PS-492.

PACS-108  Mediation

Students learn the basic model of interest-based mediation and the theoretical framework that guides its use. Role-plays and simulations will be used to prepare students to serve as mediators in a variety of contexts. Students will be trained to use a co-mediation model to resolve interpersonal and small group conflicts. There will be Saturday and Sunday meeting times 9 am-5 pm. There are 3 weekends. You will enroll for 1 weekend if you take 1 credit, 2 weekends if you do 2 credits and 3 if you take 3 credits. Homework assignments will be completed online.

1-3 CreditsS 


CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS FOR LEGAL STUDIES

Compelte at least 6 credits from the following courses:

EB-131  Financial Accounting

Introduces fundamental principles and assumptions of accounting as they relate to transaction analysis and basic financial statements.

3 CreditsS

EB-223  Principles of Microeconomics

The optimizing behavior of households and firms serves as the focal point in this study of market-based resource allocation. Supply and demand analysis, spending and saving decisions of households, production and employment decisions of firms, alternative market structures, and environmental economics are among the topics covered. 

3 CreditsSPrerequisite: Sophomore, Junior, or Senior standing. 

EN-236 Dirty Books

An examination of works of literature that have been labeled obscene. Using examples from the comedy of Aristophanes to the poetry of Allen Ginsberg, the course looks at why and how serious writers deploy scandalous and offensive elements in their work.

3 CreditsH, CW 

EN-392 Crossing the Border

This class will examine the many meanings of " border crossing " in 20th- and 21st-century literature about immigration to the United States. Using critical race theory, this class will put works of fiction and autobiography in historical context to better investigate the influence of immigration law on U.S. national literature. Beginning with short texts from the turn of the twentieth century, we will focus primarily on contemporary works dealing with the post-1965 (or " new wave " ) immigrant experience. Topics will include: " American Dream " mythology, social mobility, generational conflict, acculturation and assimilation, hyphenated identity, nativism, barriers to full citizenship, and more.

4 CreditH,CW,SW-USPrerequisites: FYC-101 or EN-110 or EN-109

EN-302 Literature of Social Protest

In this course, we will explore the use of literature as a means of protesting social injustice throughout U.S. history. How have American authors used novels, poems, stories, and essays to illustrate social problems, create empathy, and advocate for social change? What are the boundaries between art and politics? How might literary aesthetics inspire social action? How has literature shaped social progress and vice versa? Questions of literary form, merit, and content will guide our search, as will questions of representation, politics, and economics. Though topics will range widely (but often intersect), we will ask how each literary work engages with the foundational statement of American dissent, " The Declaration of Independence. "

4 CreditsSW-USPrerequisite or corequisite: FYC-101 or EN-110 or EN-109.

PL-106  Introduction to Ethics

Examines the historically valid ethical approaches to problems, i.e., pragmatic, relativistic and absolute and the application of such methods to contemporary ethical dilemmas, e.g., abortion, terrorism, euthanasia, and capital punishment.

3 CreditsH,SW-ER

PL-205  Ancient Philosophy

This course is a historical survey of ancient Greek philosophy which will cover representative figures (including the major pre-Socratics, Plato, Aristotle and important authors/movements from the Hellenistic period, such as Epicurus, Stoicism and Skepticism).

4 CreditsH,CW 

PL-310  Contemporary Political Philosophy

This course will focus on important political orientations and figures in the twentieth/early twenty-first century. Instructors may also focus on specific topics which have driven recent debates in contemporary political philosophy, including distributive justice, the normative foundations of liberalism/democracy or the tension between state sovereignty and international law (among others).

4 CreditsS,H,CWPrerequisites: Take 1 course from the PL department or permission of the instructor. 

PY-101 Introduction to Psychology

An overview of the content and methodology in the field. Topics such as the history of psychology, physiological psychology, learning and memory, perception, motivation, child development, personality and social foundations are considered

3 CreditsS

PY-203 Abnormal Psychology

A brief consideration is given to the historical approaches to " mental illness, " followed by a consideration of present day classification, diagnostic measures, and therapy. Emphasis throughout is upon experimental data as applied to the various disorders.

3 CreditsSPrerequisite: PY101.

PY-302 Moral Judgment

This course meets the Ethical Responsibility requirement. This course will cover basic issues relevant to understanding and evaluating moral judgment. We will compare philosophical models of human judgment with psychological models of human judgment. You will apply both philosophical and psychological models to contemporary ethical issues and reflect on your own beliefs and social responsibilities.

3-4 CreditsS, SW-ER, CTGES

PS-222 Western Political Thought

Surveys selected works of philosophers from Plato to Nietzsche. The course will focus on enduring questions -- what is the good, the nature of the best regime, how do freedom and authority intersect, and so on.

4 CreditsH, WK-HTPre-Req or Co-Req: FYC-101 or EN-110 or EN-109

RL-265  U.S. Religious Diversity

This course looks at the history of conflict and cooperation between different religious groups in the United States, as well as how religious diversity has impacted, and been impacted by, American politics.

3 CreditsCA,H 

CJ-260 Introduction to Criminal Justice

Explores the nature of crime, the history of criminal justice, and the process of the modern justice system. 

3 CreditsS 

SO-302 Social Deviance and Criminology

Examines contemporary psychological and sociological theories of behavior deviation, including crime, delinquency, substance abuse and selected other categories. Typologies for classifying and studying crime are developed and evaluated. Trends in behavior deviation, including the characteristics of offenders and victims, are critically explored. Informal and formal, as well as proactive and reactive, social control systems aimed at managing behavior deviation are described and analyzed. 

3 CreditsSPrerequisites: SO101 or AN151.


INSIDE OUT COURSE 

(Recommended, but not required) Take one Inside Out course that brings together campus-based students with incarcerated students and meets at the state correctional institution.


CAPSTONE

Complete one of the following Capstone Experiences below (must include a thesis related to Legal Studies):

OPTION 1:

PS-497 Honors Research I

Designed to offer exceptional students the opportunity to engage in an extensive undergraduate thesis or research project. Selected students will be invited by the faculty of the department to propose a subject of special interest to the students; working closely with at least one member of the department, students will develop and complete a research project in the first semester and present the results as a publishable paper in the second. Available by permission.

3 CreditsS 

PS-498 Honors Research II

Designed to offer exceptional students the opportunity to complete the research paper started in PS497. 

3 CreditsSPrerequisite: PS497.


OPTION 2:

PS-499 Senior Seminar

Intended as a capstone experience in the discipline and designed to engage students in their final year in the comprehensive study of a major question or issue confronting the discipline of political science. 

3 CreditsSPrerequisites: PS101 or PS102 or PS222 and senior standing and three additional Political Science courses or departmental permission.


OPTION 3:

HS-492 Sr History Research/Seminar I

(see the chapter, Special Programs under Internships.) 

3 CreditsHPrerequisite: None


POE Credit Total = 42-48

Students must complete at least 18 credits at the 300/400-level.  Any course exception must be approved by the advisor and/or department chair.