Prerequisite(s): JURI 210 or LAWS 200 or departmental approval. This core course within the Jurisprudence major provides a fundamental understanding of the principles, ideologies, and political movements that have shaped American law and procedure. It explores the evolution of the theory and scholarship of American law from its inception to the present. Through historical and contemporary readings and classroom discussion, students will consider the origin of law, the nature of social and political rights as well as the reciprocal effects of law and social institutions upon one another. Students will analyze legal opinions, statutes, treaties conventions, regulations and essays in the context of issues such as capital punishment, euthanasia, abortion and civil rights.