History, Culture, and Law, BA (Boston)

History, culture, and the law is an interdisciplinary major that offers students an 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 Latinx, Latin American, and Caribbean studies. 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 degree language requirements, for a total of 12 semester hours of language study or demonstrated equivalent proficiency, as described in Additional Requirements for BA students. Successful demonstration of proficiency does not reduce total minimum semester hours of study required to earn the BA degree.

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 

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Foundational Core Courses
ENGL 3325	Rhetoric of Law	4
or ENGL 1160	Introduction to Rhetoric
or ENGL 3404	African American Rhetorical Traditions
HIST 1100	Law and History	4
LPSC 2301	Introduction to Law, Policy, and Society	4
or LPSC 1101	Introduction to Law
Foundational Core Elective
Complete two of the following not used to fulfill the previous requirement. Note that POLS prerequisites are waived for the 3000- and 4000-level POLS classes for students in this major:		8
LPSC 2301	Introduction to Law, Policy, and Society
LPSC 3303	Topics in Law and Public Policy
LPSC 3307	Understanding the Modern Supreme Court
PHIL 2301	Philosophical Problems of Law and Justice
POLS 3302	Judicial Process and Behavior
POLS 3406	International Law
POLS 4500	U.S. Constitutional Law
POLS 4505	U.S. Civil Liberties
Research Methods
HIST 2301	The History Seminar	4

Culture Concentrations

Select one four-course concentration from the following:

• Africana Studies and Culture
• Asian Studies and Culture
• Culture and Colonialism
• Digital Humanities
• Film and International Cultures
• Gender and Sexuality
• Latinx, Latin American, and Caribbean Studies

Major Electives

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete three of the following courses (including courses cross-listed) 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
AFCS 3120	Race, Crime, and Justice
ANTH 2305	Global Markets and Local Culture
CLTR 3418	Nationalism
CRIM 2350	Policing a Democratic Society
CRIM 3110	Gender, Crime, and Justice
ENGL 3325	Rhetoric of Law
ENGL 3375	Writing Boston
HIST 1206	Drug Trade and Drug War: History, Security, Culture
HIST 1215	Origins of Today: Historical Roots of Contemporary Issues
HIST 2000	Native American Resistance: Past and Present
HIST 2011	Capitalism and Business: A Global History
HIST 2217	The Global Far-Right since 1945: Politics, Culture, Violence
HIST 2280	Hitler, Germany, and the Holocaust
HIST 2282	The Holocaust and Comparative Genocide
HIST 2285	America and the Holocaust
HIST 2311	Colonialism/Imperialism
HIST 3334	Assassinations in World History
LPSC 3303	Topics in Law and Public Policy
PHIL 1102	Introduction to Contemporary Moral Issues
PHIL 1112	Debating Ethical Controversies
PHIL 2303	Social and Political Philosophy
PHIL 2325	Ancient Philosophy and Political Thought
PHIL 2330	Modern Philosophy
PHIL 3100	The Religious Worlds of Boston: Faith and Devotion in Urban Life
SOCL 4522	Environmental Justice

Capstone

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete one of the following:		4
AFCS 4700	Capstone
ASNS 4900	Asian Studies Capstone Directed Study
ENGL 4710	Capstone Seminar
HIST 4701	Capstone Seminar
PHIL 5001	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

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Concentration in Africana Studies and Culture

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
AFCS 1101	Introduction to African American and Africana Studies	4
Complete one of the following as a writing-intensive course:		4
ANTH 4510	Contemporary Issues in Global Africa
SOCL 4520	Race, Class, and Gender
Complete two of the following, at least one of which must be at the 3000 level or above:		8
AFCS 1113—AFCS 5001

Concentration in Asian Studies and Culture

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
ASNS 1150	East Asian Studies	4
or HIST 1150	East Asian Studies
Complete one of the following as a writing-intensive course:		4
ANTH 4515	Culture and Politics in Modern India
HIST 2308	Law, Justice, and Society in Modern China
PHIL 2395	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
ANTH 4350	Ethnography of Southeast Asia
ANTH 4515	Culture and Politics in Modern India
CLTR 1500	Modern Chinese History and Culture
or HIST 1500	Modern China
JPNS 1260	Japanese Film
JPNS 1700	Introduction to Japanese Pop Culture
HIST 1246	World War II in the Pacific
HIST 1252	Japanese Literature and Culture
HIST 1253	History of Vietnam Wars
HIST 2011	Capitalism and Business: A Global History
HIST 2351	Modern Japan
KORE 1800	Introduction to Korean Pop Culture
PHIL 1130	Comparative Ethics
PHIL 1275	Hinduism, Buddhism, and Beyond
PHIL 1290	Chinese Philosophy and Religion

Concentration in Culture and Colonialism

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
POLS 2325	Ancient Philosophy and Political Thought	4
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
AFCS 3664	Black Poetry and the Spoken Word
ENGL 2296	Early African-American Literature
ENGL 2450	Postcolonial Literature
ENGL 2470	Asian-American Literature
ENGL 3404	African American Rhetorical Traditions
FRNH 1501	Introduction to French Culture
HIST 1170	Europe: Empires, Revolutions, Wars, and Their Aftermath
HIST 1218	Pirates, Planters, and Patriots: Making the Americas, 1492–1804
HIST 1272	Europe in the Middle Ages, 500–1500
HIST 1286	History of the Soviet Union
HIST 1389	History of Espionage 1: Antiquity to World War II
HIST 1390	History of Espionage 2: Cold War Spies
HIST 2011	Capitalism and Business: A Global History
HIST 2311	Colonialism/Imperialism
PHIL 3343	Existentialism
PHIL 3435	Moral Philosophy
SPNS 1504	Cultural History of Spain
SPNS 1505	Latin American Culture, History, and Politics
SPNS 3240	Social Justice in Latin American and Latinx Film
SPNS 3715	New Narratives: Latin America after 1989

Concentration in Digital Humanities

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
ENGL 1450	Reading and Writing in the Digital Age	4
or ENGL 3340	Technologies of Text
Complete three of the following not previously taken, at least one of which must be at the 3000 level or above:		12
COMM 1255	Communication in a Digital Age
COMM 2105	Social Networks
ENGL 3340	Technologies of Text
INSH 2102	Bostonography: The City through Data, Texts, Maps, and Networks
PHIL 1145	Technology and Human Values
PHIL 2001	Ethics and Evolutionary Games
SOCL 4528	Technology and Society (Note that this course has prerequisites.)

Concentration in Film and International Cultures

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
CLTR 1120	Introduction to Languages, Literature, and Culture	4
Complete three of the following:		12
CLTR 2001	World Cultures through Film
ENGL 3487	Film and Text (Abroad)
FRNH 1280	French Film and Culture
HIST 2025	Latin American History through Film
ITLN 1290	Realism and Modernism in Italian Film
JPNS 1260	Japanese Film
PHIL 1260	Apocalypticism in Film
PHIL 1666	The Problem of Evil in Film
PHIL 1667	Science Fiction and Film: Moral Dilemmas and Ethical Analysis
SPNS 3240	Social Justice in Latin American and Latinx Film
SPNS 1240	Latin American Film
WMNS 3392	Gender and Film

Concentration in Gender and Sexuality

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete four WMNS subject code courses (including cross-listed courses) not used to fulfill any other requirement for the major.		16

Concentration in Latinx, Latin American, and Caribbean Studies

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
LACS 1220	Latino, Latin American, and Caribbean Studies	4
Complete the following as the writing-intensive course:
ANTH 4500	Latin American Society and Development	4
Complete two of the following:		8
HIST 1206	Drug Trade and Drug War: History, Security, Culture
HIST 2025	Latin American History through Film
SPNS 1505	Latin American Culture, History, and Politics
SPNS 3715	New Narratives: Latin America after 1989

Sample Plan of Study

Four Years, Two  Co-ops in Spring/Summer First Half