SOC 311 Crime and Society
This course examines the social, political and economic processes that affect the creation and implementation of law. It focuses on history and fundamental principles of American legal system and compares it to other legal systems existing in today's world. In assessing how judicial opinions and legislative efforts affect social relations and institutional arrangements, inquiry is centered on: the ways in which social problems become defined as legal issues, the forces which shape the initiation and ultimate formulation of legislative acts designed to affect public policy, the role which cultural values and assumptions play in framing legal arguments and influencing judicial opinions and remedial programs, and the strengths and limitations of the law as a means of achieving special social policy objectives.