The Law and Society Minor program gives students the opportunity to study and understand the law within a sociological framework, by examining both the factors that affect variations in the law, as well as how those variations affect individuals and populations differently. In addition to a theoretical foundation in Sociology, students in the minor will study issues involving the state, its relationship to other institutions such as religions, corporations, civil liberties, the organization of courts, punishment and detention, legislatures, international bodies and trade agreements (such as NAFTA and the EU), race, class and gender and discrimination, reproductive rights, LGBT rights and the legal profession in general. Although the focus of this minor will be on U.S. laws and the U.S. society, laws and societies of other countries as well as international law and the international society will be used for comparative analysis.
The minor prepares students interested in the broad aspects of legal regulations and social organization. It is for students who are interested in graduate studies in law, applied community organizations, or business.