Law and Society Major
Announcement – New First Year Course
The Law and Society Programme is pleased to announce that in Fall 2012 it will be offering a new first year course, LWSO 1000: Law, Democracy and Social Justice. Read More.
Law and Society is the study of the place of law in social, political, economic and cultural life. As an interdisciplinary liberal arts program, the proposed Law and Society major encompasses many diverse disciplines of study, among them anthropology, history, linguistics, philosophy, political science, and sociology. It introduces students to different facets of law and the role of law in society through the ages.
Laws are fundamental to any successful society. Throughout history, as communities and countries have struggled to create and nurture robust economies and higher standards of living for their citizens, social and legal institutions have been essential to their efforts. Law and Society is the study of how legal and social systems are interconnected, how people live and how law is woven into communities. Students gain an understanding of what happens when legal innovations and institutions succeed and when they fail.
This inter-disciplinary Major program is offered to candidates for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts. It is offered in conjunction with a major or a minor in a single discipline. In order to be awarded a B.A. with a Major in Law and Society, candidates must complete all the requirements of the B. A. (see Faculty of Arts – Degree Regulations in the MUN Calendar). Candidates should contact the Program Coordinator by June 1st if they intend to begin the program in the Fall semester admission and by October 1st if they intend to begin the program in the Winter semester to discuss the planning of their program.
As is the case with any inter-disciplinary program, it will be the students’ responsibility to ensure that they have the necessary prerequisites to complete the program.
Newsletter - Winter 2012
The Winter 2012 edition of the LWSO Newsletter is now online. View
2012 Canadian Bar Association Mock Court
The Canadian Bar Association will be holding their annual mock court on Saturday, March 31st 2012 in St. John’s, Newfoundland. For the first time university students will be participating in the exercise. Students, who will act as counsel, witnesses and jury members, will read and prepare a fictional case (pdf) which will be heard before a real judge in an actual courtroom. Students from the law and society program who wish to take part are asked to fill out and submit this form (pdf) by March 2nd, 2012. Students should be available for the entire day of March 31st for participation in the mock court. Selected participants will be contacted by the Law and Society Programme. If you have any questions about the exercise, please contact the Manager of Academic Programmes (see contact info below).
- Mock Trial Scenario (PDF)
- Mock Court Application Form (PDF)
Guest Lecture, Law and Society Programme
“So that's what it means! The process of preparing legal glossaries for Aboriginal languages”. Wednesday, March 14, 2012, 7:00 – 8:00 P.M., SN 2105. Dr. Marguerite MacKenzie & Dr. Doug Wharram, Department of Linguistics, Memorial University. The lecture will focus on the researchers’ work to improve access to justice for speakers of Innu-aimun and Inuktitut by creating user-friendly glossaries of criminal law and family law terms for speakers of these languages. All are welcome.
CONTACT
Programme Coordinator of Law and Society
Faculty of Arts
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St John's, NL
A1C 5S7
Manager of Academic Programmes
Professor John Hoben
Office: A4077
Telephone: 864-3463
E-mail: jlhoben@mun.ca
