Law and Society
Study the legal and policy underpinnings of collective life.
Where Theoretical Concerns Meet Practical Applications
Public Policy and Advocacy
Oberlin’s Law and Justice Scholars Program is a yearlong program that provides students interested in legal careers with relevant academic and work experience.
Pre-Law and Legal Careers
Law schools want to see the kind of academically serious, socially engaged students Oberlin is known to cultivate. Our pre-law advisors support students as they prepare for the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) and the application process.
Undergraduate Research
I felt discouraged because I believed my research interests were too niche. That quickly changed when I found a professor who encouraged me to follow my passion.
Featured Courses
Philosophy & Morality
This course introduces the discipline and practice of philosophy within the context of ethical inquiry. Questions explored include: Where does morality come from? Is morality relative? What makes a life go well? How do we know which actions are right and wrong? The course also considers several ethical disputes such as abortion and euthanasia.
- Taught by
- Amy Berg
Law and Society: An Overview
Law frames the way we live as a society, from providing practical resolutions to contentious issues to guiding policies that affect how we relate to one another. This course introduces students to various types of law and fields of inquiry that examine how law and society impact one another. Film viewing required.
- Taught by
- Joyce Kloc Babyak
Doin’ Time: A History of Black Incarceration
This course considers how a system imprisoning Black men and women in the U.S. has been sustained from the colonial times to the present. It establishes a theoretical grounding for understanding systems of surveillance and confinement, as well as the institutions and practices that sustain what can arguably be termed 21st century enslavement.
- Taught by
- Pamela (Pam) Brooks
Politics & Power of International Law
From climate change and poverty, to war and repression, we increasingly seek legal solutions to major global problems. And yet, international law has not developed the kind of enforcement mechanism that anchors domestic regimes. The course explores this paradox while examining what international is, and what its impact on global politics can be.
- Taught by
- Joshua Freedman
Student Profiles
A Tribute to Toni Morrison
Iesha-LaShay Phillips ’22, a law and society and Africana studies double major, was featured on the Today Show’s special on the life, legacy, and impact of author Toni Morrison.
Flexing the Reporting Muscles
At Oberlin, Jenna Gyimesi ’19 was the news editor for the Oberlin Review, a varsity field hockey player, and a triple major in politics, law and society, and philosophy. Now, she is working toward a master’s in journalism at Columbia University.
Double-Degree Beebe Fellow
At Oberlin, Max Bessesen ’16 majored in law and society and jazz saxophone performance. After graduation, he was awarded a Beebe fellowship to study in India.
