Innovative Law, Justice and Society major debuts this fall
Janel Shoun |
The Law, Justice, and Society (LJS) program, Lipscomb’s newest undergraduate major beginning this fall, will teach students how to impact their community through legal and social change, said Charla Long, director and associate professor of Law, Justice and Society. LJS majors will explore how laws impact society, study historical perspectives of the law and critically analyze equality, justice and fairness, she said.
The LJS program will be on the leading edge of a growing trend in American liberal arts colleges. The American Bar Association lists 60 colleges nationwide with undergraduate legal studies programs, most designed to prepare students for careers such as non-profit administration, community advocacy, mediation, law firm management or corporate compliance.
As the program will be multidisciplinary, drawing from the psychology, political science, business, Bible and communication departments, it will also be excellent for preparing students for graduate school in business, public administration, law and conflict management, Long said.
“We often look around at the world and think, ‘What can I do about this?’ Well, our program is going to teach students how they can individually and collectively make a difference,” says Long.
“Students majoring or minoring in Law, Justice, and Society will choose a social cause that is especially meaningful to them, and that cause will be the focus of a project that spans their entire college career,” said Long. “A student who is particularly concerned about homelessness, for example, would volunteer at a homeless shelter, intern for an organization that works with the homeless and then propose a legal solution in their senior research class designed to bring about the social change necessary to significantly reduce the homeless population.”
LJS students will participate in two trips, one to Washington D.C. and one to London. The requirements for the LJS degree – service hours, one service-learning class, one service-oriented internship and one independent research project – will also meet the criteria for SALT Scholars.
Lipscomb’s new service-learning program SALT (Serving and Learning Together), to begin fall 2008, will require all students to participate in a Lipscomb-coordinated service event and take one service-learning oriented class, but motivated students can move beyond those requirements to become a SALT Scholar by completing an internship and conducting a research project like the one designed in to the LJS program.”
Students can choose one of four concentrations: conflict management, law and ethics, social change and commerce and industry. Among the classes required in the new major are Society & the Law, Influencing Change through Civic Engagement and Ethics and Laws of Compliance.
The LJS program will draw on well-known guest lecturers from around the United States to teach students. Classes will incorporate case studies, film clips, community service, tours and simulations to help students develop a practical knowledge of the many areas of society influenced by the American legal system.
For more information on the Law, Justice, and Society program, contact Long at 966-6242.