LAW 356 - Law and Social Science Seminar.

This seminar examines the uses of social science by practitioners and courts. Its primary goal is to equip students to be sophisticated consumers of social science, whether in civil or criminal litigation or in public policy development. The basic components of social science methodology are introduced. No background in methodology or statistics is necessary. Both applications in civil law (e.g., desegregation, custody) and the criminal context (e.g., domestic violence, sentencing) will be considered. A number of the social sciences will be emphasized, including psychology, sociology, and economics. Students will write a seminar paper critiquing the use of social science in the law in a specific context of interest to them. (There are no prerequisites for this seminar.)Two hours.Not offered in 2013-2014.