Courses

Law and Society students have the opportunity to study the relationship between law and society through multiple disciplinary and methodological approaches. The Law and Society Program is united by a suite of Law and Society (LAWS) courses, as well as a core group of cross-listed courses for students honouring and majoring in Law and Society. There is a wide selection of additional cross-listed courses that expose students to a range of topics and approaches related to law and society.

 

LAWS Courses

LAWS 1003 Introduction to Law and Society
This course introduces the relationships between law and Canadian society. Students examine different types of law and legal systems, including Indigenous law, the judicial system, the legal profession, and the institutional, social, and cultural contexts in which laws are made and enforced. Students will engage with debates about citizen rights, the policy-making role of courts, amongst other issues.
Prerequisites: This course is open to students who have completed fewer than 60 credit hours, or with permission of instructor.

LAWS 2003 Theories of Law and Justice
This course explores the concepts of law and justice, and the relationship between the two in contemporary society. Themes include debates about the nature of law (as a form of social organization), questions about the role of judiciary in democracies, the conceptions of justice relevant to various areas of law, and critical perspectives on traditional theories of law and justice.
Prerequisites: LAWS 1003 or permission of the instructor.

LAWS 3003 Approaches to Law and Society
This course will strengthen students' abilities to read and evaluate socio-legal research and analysis. It introduces research and writing methods including analyzing primary and secondary legal sources, qualitative strategies in socio-legal studies, and consideration of the interrelationship between theory, practice, and research.
Prerequisites: LAWS 1003.

LAWS 3013 Special Topics in Law and Society
An examination of selected topics in Law and Society.
Prerequisites: LAWS 1003.

LAWS 4003 Issues in Law and Society
This course explores philosophical, theoretical, social, and legal approaches to understanding the relationship between law and society. Topics will vary each year according to the instructor.
Prerequisites: LAWS 1003, LAWS 2003.

LAWS 407T Honours Thesis 1
This is the first of two courses that require the honours student to propose and carry out a research study under the guidance of an approved supervisor and submit a thesis in accordance with the Program Guidelines of the student's degree discipline and in a format approved by the Honours Committee of Senate.
Prerequisites: LAWS 1003, LAWS 2003, LAWS 3003. Corequisite: LAWS 408T.

LAWS 408T Honours Thesis 2
This is the second of two courses that require the honours student to propose and carry out a research study under the guidance of an approved supervisor and submit a thesis in accordance with the Program Guidelines of the student's degree discipline and in a format approved by the Honours Committee of Senate.
Prerequisites: LAWS 1003, LAWS 2003, LAWS 3003. Corequisite: LAWS 407T. 

CORE LAWS Cross-Listed Courses

Core Law and Society Courses
Majors, Second Majors, and Honours must complete four courses (12 credit hours) from the pool of Core Law and Society courses.

  • BUSI 3613 Business Law
  • BUSI 3623 Business Law 2
  • CLAS 3113 Roman Law
  • HIST 2653 Law and Life in Medieval England
  • HIST 3663 Law and Punishment in Canada Before 1900
  • HIST 3303 Genocide and Justice
  • IDST 3103 Environmental Law
  • IDST 3123 Family Law
  • LAWS 3013 Special Topics in Law and Society
  • PHIL 2713 Biomedical Ethics
  • PHIL 3713 Advanced Biomedical Ethics
  • PHIL 3203 Philosophy of Law: Rights, Laws and Judges
  • PHIL 3213 Philosophy of Law: Private Law
  • POLS 3463 Law and Politics in Canada
  • POLS 3063 Indigenous Law and Governance in Canada
  • POLS 3083 Issues in International Law
  • POLS 3163 Law, Religion, and the Modern State
  • POLS 3563 Women, Gender and the Law in Canada
  • POLS 4403 Canadian Constitutional Law
  • SOCI 2023 Sociology of Law
  • SOCI 2723 Canadian Criminal Justice
  • SOCI 3743 Criminal Law and Social Policy
Cross-Listed Courses

Cross-listed Courses
For students completing an Honours, Major, or Minor in Law and Society, the remaining courses needed to complete their program requirements are drawn from these cross-listed courses. Note: Courses that are required or part of the pool of Core Law and Society courses for Honours and Major students are bolded.

  • BUSI 2993 Professional Development
  • BUSI 3323 Employment Relations
  • BUSI 3613 Business Law
  • BUSI 3623 Business Law 2
  • BUSI 3643 Consumer Law
  • BUSI 3753 Gender and Diversity in Organizations
  • BUSI 4313 Labour Relations
  • BUSI 4663 Project Management
  • CLAS 2733 The Archaeology of Daily Life in the Ancient Mediterranean
  • CLAS 2823 Race & Ethnicity in the Ancient Mediterranean
  • CLAS 3113 Roman Law
  • ENGL 1413 or 1483 Writing and Reading Critically 1
  • ENGL 1423 or 1493 Writing and Reading Critically 2
  • ENVS 3113 Legal Issues in Environmental Science
  • ESST 2013 Environmental Justice & Equity
  • HIST 1533 Britain in World History to 1707
  • HIST 2313 The Dilemma of Modern America
  • HIST 2503 Age of Lincoln
  • HIST 2653 Law and Life in Medieval England
  • HIST 3303 Genocide and Justice
  • HIST 3663 Law and Punishment in Canada Before 1900
  • HIST 3473 Power and Statecraft
  • IDST 3103 Environmental Law
  • IDST 3123 Family Law
  • PHIL 1413 Introduction to Philosophy: God, Ethics and Justice
  • PHIL 2713 Biomedical Ethics
  • PHIL 2813 Logic and Critical Thinking
  • PHIL 2923 Philosophical Issues in Science and Technology
  • PHIL 2823 Symbolic Logic
  • PHIL 2323 Ethics in the World
  • PHIL 2313 Ethical Theory
  • PHIL 3203 Philosophy of Law: Rights, Laws and Judges
  • PHIL 3213 Philosophy of Law: Private Law
  • PHIL 3223 Kantian Practical Reason
  • PHIL 3713 Advanced Biomedical Ethics
  • POLS 1303 Law, Politics & Government (or SOCI 1013)
  • POLS 1403 Global Politics, Law and Culture
  • POLS 2003 Intro to Public Policy
  • POLS 2223 Canadian Politics
  • POLS 2683 Global Politics
  • POLS 2893 Comparative Politics
  • POLS 3063 Indigenous Law and Governance in Canada
  • POLS 3083 Issues in International Law
  • POLS 3163 Law, Religion, and the Modern State
  • POLS 3173 Model United Nations
  • POLS 3433 Modern Political Theory
  • POLS 3463 Law and Politics in Canada
  • POLS 3503 Canadian Public Administration
  • POLS 3563 Women, Gender and the Law in Canada
  • POLS 4403 Canadian Constitutional Law
  • POLS 4603 First Nations Peoples: Law, Politics and Policy in Canada
  • POLS 4803 Canadian Public Policy
  • POLS 4883 Politics of Human Rights
  • PSYC 2183 Human Sexuality
  • PSYC 2113 Abnormal Psychology
  • PSYC 2103 Social Psychology
  • PSYC 3623 Forensic Psychology
  • SOCI 1013 Introduction to Canadian Society (or POLS 1303)
  • SOCI 2023 Sociology of Law
  • SOCI 2113 Issues in Developing Societies
  • SOCI 2413 Indigeneity and Sociology
  • SOCI 2723 Canadian Criminal Justice
  • SOCI 2753 Principles of Criminology
  • SOCI 3183 Rape & Sexual Assault in Canada: A Socio-Historical View
  • SOCI 3263 The Sociology of Health and Healthcare
  • SOCI 3793 Violence
  • SOCI 3703 Crime and Punishment
  • SOCI 3743 Criminal Law and Social Policy
  • THEA 2753 Performance Voice and Speech 1
  • THEA 2763 Performance Voice and Speech 2
  • WGST 2913 Global Women's Movements