Foundations of Law – JURI 600
CG • Section 8WK • 12/17/2019 to 05/25/2020 • Modified 07/19/2021
Course Description
For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.
Rationale
This course will explore the foundational principles of the Western and American legal traditions, and, in the process, will expose the assumptions that form a person’s worldview. The student will study the rich history of law from ancient revelation through the development of common law, and from the Western legal tradition to the Founding Era up to the present. The course will emphasize the necessity of understanding these founding principles in order to properly understand modern law. Ultimately, the purpose of this course is to discover God’s laws and to encourage obedience to them throughout the nations.
Course Assignment
Textbook readings and lecture presentations/notes
Course Requirements Checklist
After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.
Discussions
Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student is required to provide a thread in response to the provided prompt for each discussion. The thread must be 300–400 words and demonstrate course-related knowledge. Each thread must include at least 1 reference to the textbook/course material and must be cited in current Bluebook format. In addition to the thread, the student is required to reply to 2 other classmates’ threads. Each reply must be at least 200–400 words and contain at least 1 reference from the textbook/course material, cited in current Bluebook format.
Essay Assignments (2)
The student will write two 3–5-page research essays in current Bluebook format that focus on specific, provided topics. Each essay must include at least 3 scholarly sources in addition to the course textbook and the Bible. Citations must be in current Bluebook format.
Note: LL.M students must add an additional 2500 words of writing in their final paper. This is a Pass/Fail component of this assignment. This is not required of the JM students.
Quizzes
There are four quizzes. Each quiz will cover the Reading & Study material for the module in which it is assigned. The quizzes will be open-book/open-notes.