Law and Society York University

Overview

Law and Society is one of the most significant expressions of a modern society's social and political development. In recent years, social scientists from many disciplines have analyzed the interplay between law and society. We live in a period of widespread public interest in law that arises from a concern with problems of social justice, social control and deviance.

The academic disciplines - anthropology, economics, history, philosophy, political science, psychology, sociology - have increasingly focused on such issues as the nature and origin of law; law-making and law breaking; rights and obligations; freedom and responsibility. These are matters of increasing concern to teachers, social workers, businesspersons, doctors and public servants whose professional responsibilities demand a knowledge of the relationship of law to their own fields.

The goals of the Law and Society BA program at York University are:

• to affirm the intellectual importance of the study of law and society and law in society;
• to provide a framework within which you and the faculty may explore, within disciplines and between them, descriptive and analytic approaches to the subject;
• and to sharpen the appreciation of law as part of the active daily life of the student.

• Law and Society at York University is one of the oldest and largest such legal studies program in North America with an over 30-year history and approximately 1,000 majors.
• Our faculty bring a range of interdisciplinary expertise and training to the classroom and draw from fields as diverse as anthropology, history, philosophy, law, sociology, criminology and political science. Our excellent faculty include Rosemary Coombe, Canada Research Chair in Law, Communication & Culture.
• There are several discipline-specific diplomas and certificates you can take to enhance your degree.

Possible Career Paths Include:

• Archivist
• Community worker
• Legislative aid