1Introduction to Legal StudiesLegal 250 – Spring 2005 • Professor Thomas HilbinkTuesday and Thursday, 2:30 – 3:45 p.m.137 School of Managementwww.umass.edu/legal/Hilbink/250This course explores the ways law shapes society and society shapes law. It takes asa starting point the belief that law does not simply exist on its own, independent ofinfluences by people, politics, and social institutions. Rather, law reflects the contextin which it is made and used. Further, we will look at many forms of law. Law is notsimply what is in leather-bound tomes in a lawyer’s office. Law is not simply what theU.S. Supreme Court says. Law is constituted in many forms and places: on the streets,in individual exchanges, in cultural practices, on television. Over the course of theterm, the course will explore definitions and concepts of law, the forms law takes andthe forums in which it is shaped, the different ways that people understand law andthe legal system, the ways injuries and disputes are understood and mediated, thegoals and purposes of trials, and the concept and importance of rights in the UnitedStates and elsewhere.2Contact Information:Professor Thomas Hilbink110 Gordon Hall418 N. Pleasant [email protected] Assistants:Kemi George114 Gordon [email protected] Kirk114 Gordon [email protected] Hours:I cannot stress enough how helpful and important office hours can be. Please takeadvantage of these times to clarify any questions you have about the course, to furtherdiscuss materials of interest, or to better understand class assignments• Professor HilbinkThursdays 11 to 1 and by appointment• Kemi Georgesee website• Amanda Kirksee websiteSchedule for Major AssignmentsMarch 2nd, in-class examinationApril 14th, first paper due by noon to 110 Gordon HallMay 19th, final paper due by noon to 110 Gordon HallDeadlines for Other MaterialsWritten Class ParticipationWritten responses to class participation questions must be turned in (in class) within aweek after the class for which the questions were writtenExtra Credit AssignmentsWritten responses to extra credit lectures and events must be turned in (in class) withina week after the event.3Course ReadingsI have gone to great effort to choose a set of readings that are interesting, helpexplain fundamental concepts covered in the course, or provide material to spur class debateand discussion. I cannot claim that every reading satisfies all three goals. There may bewhat some consider too much reading. After looking over the syllabus, if you think you can’tor won’t do the reading, now is the time to look elsewhere for a class. This is not meant toscare you, just to make you aware that completing the readings will be essential to getting agood grade in this course. None of the assignments or exams will entail outside researchthus allowing you to concentrate on that which you will have before you in three sources:Books• Bonsignore et al., Before the Law (8th edition, 2006)o Available at Jeffrey Amherst Bookstore downtown.• NOTE: I recommend purchasing the 7th edition of Before the Law whichis a few years old and can be had for cheap. Note, however, that ifyou do purchase the 7th edition, you will be responsible for determiningthe pagination of reading assignments.• Ewick and Silbey, The Common Place of Law (1998)o Available at Jeffry Amherst Bookstore. You may be able to find used copies ofthis book for sale online as well. Try abebooks.com or alibris.com for starters.However, don’t wait until the last minute to get the book. Last term somestudents waited until a few days before the final and found they couldn’t get acopy.Course Reader• Available at Collective Copies downtown. Call first to be sure they have copies readyfor pick-up: 256-6425Website• I maintain a website for this course on which I have posted readings. The schedulebelow lays out which readings are on the website.• The web address is: http://www.umass.edu/legal/Hilbink/250/readings.htmAll non-website reading materials will be on reserve at the library as well.Course Objectives• Develop a deeper understanding of the many faces of law, how law is shaped,how people think about law, the role of law in society, the intersection of law andpolitics, etc.• Develop strong logical and critical thinking skills• Improve analytical and persuasive writing skills4Course Requirements and ExpectationsRequirements• Timely completion and understanding of assigned readings• Informed and thoughtful class participation• One in-class examination• One 3-4 page paper• One 4-5 page paperExpectationsI expect you to spend twice as much time out of class in preparation for class sessionsas you do in class. Thus, with class taking 2 1/2 hours per week, you should be spendingfive hours working on the course outside of class. This is an average, of course. It will notalways take you 5 hours per week to do readings and prepare for discussion, but it will likelyrequire more time when papers are due.Before you decide that 7 1/2 hours per class is ridiculous, note that if you are a full-time student taking five classes, this means you are still spending less than 40 hours per weekon class attendance and preparation. That’s 37 1/2 hours – still less than a full-time job.GradingGrades will be computed on a 100 point scale broken down as follows:• Class Participation 15 points• In-class Exam 20 points• First Paper 25 points• Final Paper 40 points• Extra Credit 0-6 pointsGrades are totaled at the end of the semester and scaled according to the person withthe highest point total in the course. I do not use a simple 95=”A” percentage, thus do notassume that if you get a 10/20 on the first exam that you are failing. Last term the gradebreakdown was:A = 91-100A- = 81-90B+ = 76-80B = 71-75B- = 66-70C+ = 56-65C = 51-55C- = 41-50D = 31-40F = 0-30Note that last term’s grade breakdown will not necessarily determine how grades aredistributed this term. I create the scale once I see the grade breakdown at the term’sconclusion.Class Participation1) In-class ParticipationDespite the fact that this is a big course, class participation remains important. In fact,it is what makes this class fun and interesting (at least for me). You all have different ways of5thinking about the material and sharing those points of view will, I hope, make