Jurisprudence and the US Constitution

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This is a course in the nature of law generally and of the task of judging (often referred to as "jurisprudence") in particular. This course will study the major conceptual schools of thought that have shaped American jurisprudence, including legal positivism, natural law jurisprudence, originalism, textualism, and pragmatism. We will examine as well as more general philosophical frameworks beyond the American context, including the legal thought of St. Thomas Aquinas and the British philosopher of law H.L.A. Hart.