History, culture, and the law is an interdisciplinary major that provides students the opportunity to understand how legal systems are shaped by cultural norms and historical developments, as well as how social change has been and can be created through legal processes. After studying principles of historical method and jurisprudence, students bring to bear the interdisciplinary frameworks they have begun to develop in one of seven culturally focused concentrations: Africana studies and culture; Asian studies and culture; culture and colonialism; digital humanities; film and international cultures; gender and sexuality; and Latino/a, Latin American, and Caribbean studies and culture. Students have opportunities to develop flexibility in perspectives, to exercise ability to work in interdisciplinary frameworks, and to foster appreciation of cultural diversity that will enable them to make a positive impact in their chosen spheres of action.
Complete all courses listed below unless otherwise indicated. Also complete any corequisite labs, recitations, clinicals, or tools courses where specified and complete any additional courses needed beyond specific college and major requirements to satisfy graduation credit requirements.
Universitywide Requirements
All undergraduate students are required to complete the Universitywide Requirements.
BA Language Requirements
All BA students are required to complete the BA language requirements.
NUpath Requirements
All undergraduate students are required to complete the NUpath Requirements.
Complete all courses listed below unless otherwise indicated. Also complete any corequisite labs, recitations, clinicals, or tools courses where specified.
Note: No more than two courses taken for this major may be counted toward another major or minor.
Law and History Core
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Foundational Core Courses | ||
| Rhetoric of Law | ||
| Law and History | ||
| Introduction to Law, Policy, and Society | ||
| Foundational Core Elective | ||
| Complete two of the following: | 8 | |
| Introduction to Law, Policy, and Society | ||
| Topics in Law and Public Policy | ||
| Understanding the Modern Supreme Court | ||
| Philosophical Problems of Law and Justice | ||
| Judicial Process and Behavior | ||
| International Law | ||
| U.S. Constitutional Law | ||
| U.S. Civil Liberties | ||
Concentrations
Students will select one four-course concentration from among these choices:
- Africana Studies and Culture
- Asian Studies and Culture
- Culture and Colonialism
- Digital Humanities
- Film and International Cultures
- Gender and Sexuality
- Latino/a, Latin American, and Caribbean Studies and Culture
Major Electives
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete three of the following not already used to fulfill one of the requirements above. Courses not used above to fulfill a requirement may also be used to fulfill this elective requirement. However, only one course used to fulfill this requirement may be at the 1000 level. | 12 | |
| Global Markets and Local Culture | ||
| Race, Crime, and Justice | ||
| Nationalism | ||
| Policing a Democratic Society | ||
| Gender, Crime, and Justice | ||
| Boston in Literature | ||
| Rhetoric of Law | ||
| Writing Boston | ||
| Bedrooms and Battlefields: Hebrew Bible and the Origins of Sex, Gender, and Ethnicity | ||
or WMNS 3678 | Bedrooms and Battlefields: Hebrew Bible and the Origins of Sex, Gender, and Ethnicity | |
| Drug Trade and Drug War: History, Security, Culture | ||
| Origins of Today: Historical Roots of Contemporary Issues | ||
| Native American Resistance: Past and Present | ||
| Capitalism and Business: A Global History | ||
| The Global Far-Right since 1945: Politics, Culture, Violence | ||
| Hitler, Germany, and the Holocaust | ||
| The Holocaust and Comparative Genocide | ||
| America and the Holocaust | ||
| Colonialism/Imperialism | ||
| Assassinations in World History | ||
| Topics in Law and Public Policy | ||
| Introduction to Contemporary Moral Issues | ||
| Debating Ethical Controversies | ||
| Social and Political Philosophy | ||
| The Religious Worlds of Boston: Faith and Devotion in Urban Life | ||
| Ancient Philosophy and Political Thought | ||
| Modern Philosophy | ||
| Environmental Justice | ||
Capstone
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| Capstone | ||
| Capstone | ||
| Asian Studies Capstone Directed Study | ||
| Capstone Project | ||
| Capstone Seminar | ||
| Global Justice | ||
Major GPA Requirement
Minimum 3.000 GPA required in all major courses
Major Credit Requirement
Complete 52 hours in the major
Experiential Liberal Arts
All students in this College of Social Sciences and Humanities program are required to complete the Experiential Liberal Arts Requirement.
Program Requirements
128 total semester hours required
Concentration in Africana Studies and Culture
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete four courses as follows: | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| Introduction to African American and Africana Studies | ||
| Introduction to African Studies | ||
| Complete one of the following as a writing-intensive course: | 4 | |
| Anthropology of Africa | ||
or ANTH 4510 | Anthropology of Africa | |
| Race, Class, and Gender | ||
| Complete two of the following, at least one of which must be at the 3000 level or above: | 8 | |
Concentration in Asian Studies and Culture
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete four courses as follows: | ||
| East Asian Studies | ||
or HIST 1150 | East Asian Studies | |
| Complete one of the following as a writing-intensive course: | 4 | |
| Law, Justice, and Society in Modern China | ||
| Japanese Buddhism | ||
| Complete two of the following. If HIST 2308 or PHIL 2395 is the writing-intensive course, at least one of these electives must be at the 3000 level or above: | 8 | |
| Ethnography of Southeast Asia | ||
| Culture and Politics in Modern India | ||
| Japanese Film | ||
| Modern Chinese History and Culture | ||
or HIST 1500 | Modern Chinese History and Culture | |
| Introduction to Chinese Popular Culture | ||
| Introduction to Japanese Pop Culture | ||
| World War II in the Pacific | ||
| Japanese Literature and Culture | ||
| History of Vietnam Wars | ||
| Capitalism and Business: A Global History | ||
| Modern Japan | ||
| Music of Asia | ||
| Comparative Ethics | ||
| Hinduism, Buddhism, and Beyond | ||
| Chinese Philosophy and Religion | ||
Concentration in Culture and Colonialism
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete four courses as follows: | ||
| Ancient Philosophy and Political Thought | ||
or PHIL 2325 | Ancient Philosophy and Political Thought | |
| Complete three of the following, at least one of which must be at the 3000 level or above: | 12 | |
| Introduction to French Culture | ||
| Cultural History of Spain | ||
| Postcolonial Women Writers | ||
| Europe: Empires, Revolutions, Wars, and Their Aftermath | ||
| Pirates, Planters, and Patriots: Making the Americas, 1492–1804 | ||
| Europe in the Middle Ages, 500–1500 | ||
| History of the Soviet Union | ||
| History of Espionage 1: Antiquity to World War II | ||
| History of Espionage 2: Cold War Spies | ||
| Capitalism and Business: A Global History | ||
| Colonialism/Imperialism | ||
| History of Modern Terrorism | ||
| Understanding the Bible | ||
| Existentialism | ||
| Moral Philosophy | ||
| Philosophy and Literature | ||
Concentration in Digital Humanities
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete four courses as follows: | ||
| Reading and Writing in the Digital Age | ||
| Foundations of Cybersecurity | ||
| Complete two of the following, at least one of which must be at the 3000 level or above: | 12 | |
| Apps, Memes, and Bots: Global Literature in the Age of the Internet | ||
| Communication in a Digital Age | ||
| Social Networks | ||
| Cyberlaw: Privacy, Ethics, and Digital Rights | ||
| Writing for Social Media: Theory and Practice | ||
| Technologies of Text | ||
| Bostonography: The City through Data, Texts, Maps, and Networks | ||
| Technology and Human Values | ||
| Ethics and Evolutionary Games | ||
| Law and Society in a Digital World | ||
| Computers and Society | ||
Concentration in Film and International Cultures
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete four courses as follows: | ||
| Introduction to Languages, Literature, and Culture | ||
| Complete three of the following: | 12 | |
| Latin American Film | ||
| Japanese Film | ||
| World Cultures through Film | ||
| Film and Text (Abroad) | ||
| Latin American History through Film | ||
| Apocalypticism in Film | ||
| The Problem of Evil in Film | ||
| Science Fiction and Film: Moral Dilemmas and Ethical Analysis | ||
| Gender and Film | ||
Concentration in Gender and Sexuality
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete four courses as follows: | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| Sex, Gender, and Popular Culture | ||
| Introduction to Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | ||
| Complete one of the following as a writing-intensive course: | 4 | |
| Digital Feminisms | ||
| Race, Class, and Gender | ||
| Complete two of the following. If WMNS 2505 is the writing-intensive course, at least one of these electives must be at the 3000 level or above: | 8 | |
| Gender, Race, and Medicine | ||
or HIST 1225 | Gender, Race, and Medicine | |
or WMNS 1225 | Gender, Race, and Medicine | |
| Gender and Sexuality: A Cross-Cultural Perspective | ||
| Postcolonial Women Writers | ||
| Women and World Politics | ||
| Sociology of Gender | ||
| Gender and Reproductive Justice | ||
| Gender, Social Justice, and Transnational Activism | ||
| Sexuality, Gender, and the Law | ||
| Bedrooms and Battlefields: Hebrew Bible and the Origins of Sex, Gender, and Ethnicity | ||
Concentration in Latino/a, Latin American, and Caribbean Studies and Culture
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete four courses as follows: | ||
| Latino, Latin American, and Caribbean Studies | ||
| Complete the following as the writing-intensive course: | 4 | |
| Latin American Society and Development | ||
| Complete two of the following: | 8 | |
| Caribbean Literature and Culture | ||
| Latin American Culture, History, and Politics | ||
| Caribbean Literature and Culture | ||
| New Narratives: Latin America after 1989 | ||
| Representing Violence and Human Rights in Latin America | ||
| Drug Trade and Drug War: History, Security, Culture | ||
| Latin American History through Film | ||
Africana Studies and Culture Concentration, Four Years, Two Co-ops in Summer 2/Fall
| Year 1 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| CLTR 1000 | 1 | AFAM 1101 | 4 | Elective | 4 | Elective | 4 |
| ENGW 1111 | 4 | LPSC 2301 | 4 | Elective | 4 | Elective | 4 |
| HIST 1100 | 4 | POLS 1160 | 4 | ||||
| MATH 1215 | 4 | Foreign language | 4 | ||||
| Foreign language | 4 | ||||||
| 17 | 16 | 8 | 8 | ||||
| Year 2 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| EESH 2000 | 1 | Co-op | Co-op | Elective | 4 | ||
| ENGL 3325 | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| LPSC 2301 | 4 | ||||||
| PHIL 2301 | 4 | ||||||
| Foreign language | 4 | ||||||
| 17 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||||
| Year 3 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| AFRS 1270 | 4 | AFAM 1113 | 4 | Elective | 4 | Co-op | |
| ENGW 3315 | 4 | EESH 2000 | 1 | Elective | 4 | ||
| SOCL 4520 | 4 | Foundational Core Elective | 4 | ||||
| Foundational Core Elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| 16 | 17 | 8 | 0 | ||||
| Year 4 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||||
| Co-op | Capstone | 4 | |||||
| Foreign language | 4 | ||||||
| Foundational Core Elective | 4 | ||||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| 0 | 16 | ||||||
| Total Hours: 131 | |||||||
Digital Humanities Concentration, Four Years, One Co-op in Spring/Summer 1
| Year 1 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| CLTR 1000 | 1 | COMM 1255 | 4 | Elective | 4 | Vacation | |
| ENGW 1111 | 4 | ENGL 1450 | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||
| HIST 1100 | 4 | LPSC 2301 | 4 | ||||
| MATH 1215 | 4 | Foreign language | 4 | ||||
| Foreign language | 4 | ||||||
| 17 | 16 | 8 | 0 | ||||
| Year 2 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| EESH 2000 | 1 | Co-op | Co-op | Elective | 4 | ||
| ENGL 3325 | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| LPSC 2301 | 4 | ||||||
| PHIL 2301 | 4 | ||||||
| Foreign language | 4 | ||||||
| 17 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||||
| Year 3 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| ENGL 3340 | 4 | ENGW 3315 | 4 | Vacation | Vacation | ||
| INSH 2102 | 4 | Foreign language | 4 | ||||
| Foundational Core Elective | 4 | Foundational Core Elective | 4 | ||||
| Elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Year 4 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||||
| Foreign language | 4 | Capstone | 4 | ||||
| Foundational Core Elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| Elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| Elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| 16 | 16 | ||||||
| Total Hours: 130 | |||||||