Surveillance, databases, privacy, and the production of data images are the backdrop for this course. The social and political implications of various data images, and the law's role in structuring the terrain and the ways in which data images can be manipulated and acted upon, is the focus.

This course provides the tools to critically think about the everyday presence of surveillance technologies, their international connections and their influence in society. We begin the course with the foundational work of surveillance studies that analyze the relations to power, capital, security and justice. We question the epistemologies that inform public demand and acceptance of surveillance technologies that promise security to ?all.?

This course will introduce you to (and hopefully get you excited about) the theory and practice of poverty law. The class begins with an exploration of poverty itself (the who, what, and why) and an introduction to the practice of poverty law.

As students of law and society, we routinely find ourselves intellectually engaged with the fact of extraordinary, violent death. Crime, war, police brutality, state execution-- these inquiries bring us to deep and difficult confrontations with human suffering and loss. We will explore questions about rites and rights-- examining topics including terminal medical care, the right to die, the funeral and death care industry and its laborers, and the many fates of cadavers from human composting to organ donation.

This course offers a comprehensive introduction to cybersecurity and privacy compliance, blending legal foundations with real-world application. Students will explore key laws, regulatory frameworks, and enforcement trends that shape the global data protection landscape. Through lectures and practical assignments, students will apply theory to realistic scenarios encountered in Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) roles.

This course focuses on the U.S. Supreme Court and its rulings regarding sex and sexuality. We will examine several hot button issues confronted by the Supreme Court, such as reproduction (sterilization/contraception/abortion); marriage (polygamous/interracial/same sex); pornography/obscenity; sodomy; sexual assault on college campuses; and sex education in public schools. Some questions we will consider include: What is the constitutionality of government regulation of sexual behavior, sexual material, reproduction, and sexuality and how and why has this changed over time?

Introduction to humanitarian law. Topics include theory and history of international human rights law, growth and nature of human rights organizations, regional human rights schemes, cross-cultural contexts and meanings for human rights, the politics and law of immigration and refugees, international criminal law and other mechanisms for humanitarian intervention. Prerequisite: course in Legal Studies or international politics. Satisfies the Integrative Experience requirement for BA-Legal major.

This course will explore the history, purpose, procedure and practice of specialty or problem-solving courts (e.g. drug treatment courts, mental health courts, veteran's treatment courts) in the American criminal justice system in general and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in particular. Students will be required to read and discuss articles, studies, manuals, reports, etc., related to the topic. Students will also be giving opportunity to observe local specialty court sessions (in person or virtually) and then discuss their observations.

This course involves in-depth study of the topic of human trafficking, often referred to as "modern day slavery." The course will explore the definition of the crime of human trafficking in the US and internationally and study the debates surrounding anti-trafficking laws and policies. We will examine the similarities and differences between slavery and human trafficking in the popular imagination and the law.

The course will focus on civil law and will deal with issues that are unique to each of the respective civil trial courts. Case studies will address the manner in which disputes are resolved by trial or settlement. Some of the issues to be examined are termination of parental rights, sexually dangerous person proceedings and administrative agency appeals. The course will also focus on the equitable jurisdiction of the courts, contract actions and an introduction to real property rights.