Legal Reasoning

Undergraduate / Graduate

This course will introduce students to the basic principles of legal reasoning and the pedagogical norms of legal education while providing an overview of the common law legal system. Students will learn to use rule-based analogical and analytical reasoning to engage with hypotheticals mirroring the laws, guidelines, and standards one encounters daily. Students will then consider law within the framework of institutions, or the enduring set of rules and patterns that regulate behavior, including public and private law. Throughout the course, students will be immersed in legal doctrine and readings will primarily consist of judicial opinions but may include related material on legal theory, legal history, and political philosophy. This course is recommended for students who are interested in law as an independent academic subject or career as well as anyone curious about what makes our social and political world tick.