Curriculum Guide · Courses

Professor Rosa Brooks

J.D. Seminar 572 | 3 credit hours

This seminar will explore some extremely thorny moral and psychological issues: why do people behave altruistically or cruelly? What separates the law-abiding citizen from the criminal? Does "character" determine most behavior, or does environment trump character in some—or most—situations? What's the best way to understand the role law plays in shaping human behavior? Course readings will be drawn from a wide variety of disciplines, including biology, sociology, psychology, and jurisprudence, and we will look at materials that range from studies of adolescent bullying and war-time heroism to stories drawn from the Rwandan genocide and the interrogation rooms at Guantanamo.

No prerequisites. This seminar satisfies the writing requirement. All students will be required to write one 25+ page term paper and several shorter reaction papers (1-2 pages) throughout the course.