This syllabus is in the process of being updated. The course will be offered Spring semester 2000
This course explores the historical development of Anglo-American law. Students will be introduced to the basic ideas, customs, and institutions that have shaped this legal tradition. We will also investigate how and why the common law sometimes changed and sometimes failed to keep pace with social circumstances. There are no prerequisites for this course, but students are expected to have a genuine interest in (and patience for) studying legal concepts and procedure.
One main objective of the course is to familiarize students with the specialized language of the common law tradition. This is key to learning how lawyers and judges think, and how legalistic approaches to social conflict influence our culture. Students should also learn to evaluate critically the contributions of our Anglo-American legal heritage to human dignity, freedom and equality. Examinations and class projects will be designed to test students' progress in both areas--acquiring specific knowledge and sharpening analytical skills.
This course will be offered simultaneously at the University of Baltimore and Harford Community College using the Bell Atlantic MDLN interactive video networking system. Students enrolled in the course must accept the following conditions: 1)there will be cameras in the classroom, 2)the instructor will not always be physically present in the classroom, 3)as a result, some traditional classroom routines will have to be handled differently and will demand special cooperation from students. Every effort will be made by the instructor to promote an active (not a passive) learning environment. Students will be required to communicate by E-Mail, to use the Internet and to give classroom presentations that take advantage of the electronic classroom.
A discussion "bulletin board" and other course support software will be available for students through the Internet.
Students will be evaluated and graded according the University of Baltimore standards as explained in the undergraduate catalogue. There will be a mid-term, a final examination, a class project, and an oral report. The exams will consist of "short answer" questions and essays based on the readings, lectures, and class discussions. The class project will, in part, be a short (5-7 page) paper based on readings and investigations students will undertake outside of class. More information about these exams and the paper will be made available in class. It is the student's responsibility to obtain this (and any other) information if he or she has missed class.
Students should come to class prepared to ask questions and to engage in meaningful discussion about the reading assignments. A contribution is exactly that--a good question, a good response to someone else's question, and so forth. Some reading material for this course is difficult, and students will need the benefit of the class discussion to understand it. Frequent absences will make it very difficult for any student to do well in the course. The instructor reserves the right, in cases of excessive, unexcused absences, to drop students from the course administratively.
I'm here to assist you in your effort to learn. And while I'm always busy and sometimes disorganized, I am genuinely happy to work with you individually during office hours, over the phone, by E-mail, and so forth. However, try to avoid just "dropping in" right before or after class if you have a substantive issue to discuss.