Bernard E. Harcourt : Courses and Seminars
Criminal Law
LAWS 30311
This course, offered over two sequential quarters, addresses the doctrines of criminal liability and the moral and social problems of crime. The definitions of crimes and defenses are considered in light of the purposes of punishment and the role of the criminal justice system, including police and correctional agencies.
Autumn 2012
Bernard E. Harcourt
Law and Political Thought: Punishment
LAWS 70705
This course will focus on punishment paradigms—past, present, and future. The United States experienced an exponential increase in its prison population beginning in 1973 and witnessed the collapse of earlier punishment paradigms, such as rehabilitation. At the same time, the early 1970s were marked by severe criticism of the excesses of the criminal justice system and many predictions of the future demise of the prison. This raises a host of questions: What happened in the 1970s that contributed to our present condition of mass incarceration? What is the punishment paradigm that governs the criminal justice system today? And can we envisage a radically different paradigm for the future? This course will explore these questions through readings of the classics of political, social, and legal theory on punishment since the 1970s.
Students will be assessed via a substantial research paper and class participation.
Winter 2013
Bernard E. Harcourt
Workshop: Public Law and Legal Theory
LAWS 63402
Working from a variety of methodological orientations, the workshop examines questions arising at the intersections of public law, legal theory, and interdisciplinary work in law and the social sciences, with an emphasis on criminal law, legal history, and politics. Sessions are devoted to the presentation and discussion of papers by faculty members from other institutions.
Students must enroll for the entire year and will receive one pass/fail credit.
Students are required to read the papers, attend the workshop, ask questions, and to submit one reaction paper per quarter on a paper of their choosing.
Spring 2013
Bernard E. Harcourt, Alison LaCroix, Nicholas Stephanopoulos, Laura Weinrib
Workshop: Public Law and Legal Theory
LAWS 63402
Working from a variety of methodological orientations, the workshop examines questions arising at the intersections of public law, legal theory, and interdisciplinary work in law and the social sciences, with an emphasis on criminal law, legal history, and politics. Sessions are devoted to the presentation and discussion of papers by faculty members from other institutions.
Students must enroll for the entire year and will receive one pass/fail credit.
Students are required to read the papers, attend the workshop, ask questions, and to submit one reaction paper per quarter on a paper of their choosing.
Winter 2013
Bernard E. Harcourt, Alison LaCroix, Nicholas Stephanopoulos, Laura Weinrib
Workshop: Public Law and Legal Theory
LAWS 63402
Working from a variety of methodological orientations, the workshop examines questions arising at the intersections of public law, legal theory, and interdisciplinary work in law and the social sciences, with an emphasis on criminal law, legal history, and politics. Sessions are devoted to the presentation and discussion of papers by faculty members from other institutions.
Students must enroll for the entire year and will receive one pass/fail credit.
Students are required to read the papers, attend the workshop, ask questions, and to submit one reaction paper per quarter on a paper of their choosing.
Autumn 2012
Bernard E. Harcourt, Alison LaCroix, Nicholas Stephanopoulos, Laura Weinrib
