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First-Year Writing Seminar (101-8-20)

Topic

Access to Justice

Instructors

Brian Daniel Libgober

Meeting Info

Scott Hall 107 Burdick Room: Mon, Wed 9:30AM - 10:50AM

Overview of class

Complex societies require systems for settling private conflicts and, in so doing, producing civil justice. In recent years, scholars have documented a profound, multi-dimensional crisis in the basic infrastructure of providing civil justice, with particular flash points including eviction, child welfare, and debt collection. Our course will explore how the civil justice system has reached this state of crisis, the consequences of this crisis for social and economic inequality, and how and why the political system has struggled to arrive at policy solutions. We will also discuss prospects for reform to civil justice and draw connections and contrasts to the criminal justice system. The course aims to give students a familiarity with how social scientists think about thorny policy issues crossing many substantive areas.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course hard-working and attentive students should:
a. Have a better understanding of how the legal system resolves private disputes.
b. Appreciate systemic issues in the resolution of certain recurring disputes, for example in rental and debt markets.
c. Gain familiarity with how social scientists reason about public policy problems.
d. Understand some of the similarities and differences between the civil and criminal justice systems.
e. Understand some tradeoffs with potential policy solutions.
f. Have build and sharpen their social scientific research, writing, and communications skills.

Teaching Method

Seminar and inquiry-based instruction method, focused on identifying and discussing critical questions posed by the readings.

Evaluation Method

Three short papers
One final paper
Presentation module
Participation

Class Materials (Required)

readings will be uploaded to Canvas

Class Materials (Suggested)

readings will be uploaded to Canvas

Class Attributes

WCAS Writing Seminar