Sample courses

This class, offered by Dalhousie's Schulich School of Law exclusively to undergraduates, is designed to introduce you to the workings of the Canadian legal system and to the basics of several fundamental areas of law. The focus of the class will be the decisions that have been made by courts in Canada. There will be discussion of what the law should be, which will occur in a context of understanding how courts reason, and the principles that they bring to bear in reaching their decisions. In particular, you’ll look at introductory case law concerning tort law (wrongs by one person against another), personal property, criminal law, and the law as it relates to Aboriginal peoples.

Prerequisites: Completion of first-year classes.

In this class, you’ll explore answers to the central question in philosophical ethics—“How should we live our lives and interact with others?—in the context of the international community or “global village” in which we now live. The class will involve close analyses of liberal and non-liberal theorists from around the world on the subjects of moral rights; the nature of justice; social welfare; human diversity and equality; and the nature of social responsibility.

Specific topics may include: the impact of globalization on understanding moral rights (human rights, labour rights, language rights, etc.); third-world responses to Western conceptualizations of rights; new conceptions of justice and social transformation, including conceptions of restorative justice; conceptualizations or race and ethnicity, and sources of personal and communal identity; the nature and importance of autonomy; the importance of different cultural constructions of gender and the problem of sexual violence in a global perspective; and frameworks for understanding shared agency and shared responsibility for poverty and environmental degradation.

Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites.

Why do states fight wars? Commit genocide? Sign treaties? Acquire and sell ballistic missile and nuclear technologies? Join economic and military alliances? Enforce and/or dismantle sanctions against states like Iraq, Iran or North Korea? Why can’t we enforce international law as effectively as we enforce domestic law? Can we identify (and enforce) an objective set of universal moral values to guide relations between states and peoples? Is the United Nations (UN) a useful institution or is it destined to fail? Should NATO have intervened in conflicts in Bosnia, Kosovo, Rwanda, or Afghanistan? What were the factors that led to the US and UK invasion of Iraq in 2003, and what does this tell us about US foreign policy and the origins of major conflict? These are some of the questions this class, offered through the Political Science Department, is designed to explore and answer. Major frameworks will guide discussion.

Prerequisites: An introductory class in Political Science is recommended.
Exclusions: POLI 2500

This class will consider the instrumentality of fear and terror in public policy, and its role in fostering public opinion and managing social groups and populations. Drawing on interdisciplinary and theoretical analyses of sex and race discrimination, it will consider various ways in which sexual and racial politics are implicated in the production and proliferation of "terror" in contemporary western societies, in practices perpetrated or sanctioned by both state and non-state actors. You’ll also examine the recent discourses of terrorism and its representation in the media; philosophical considerations of anti-immigrant fear-mongering; and political analyses of the economy of "security" industries. The class will also address the role of both state and corporate interest in disaster relief, epidemics, and other social crises.

Prerequisites: A previous class in Political Science is recommended.

Though this is a stand-alone class, it builds on the exploration of theories of crime addressed in SOSA 2181 and applies them to various “types” of crime and criminal behavior in Canada and elsewhere. You’ll consider various sources of knowledge to provide description and analysis of different patterns and types of crime. You'll also explore how this knowledge is being applied in specific policies and practices aimed at managing and preventing crimes, typically by the criminal justice system. Areas you’ll cover include violent crimes such as murder, sexual assault, domestic violence, robbery and gang violence; property crimes such as burglary and motor vehicle theft; organized crime; white collar and corporate crime; and new forms of global crime such as narco-trafficking; human and arms smuggling; and money laundering.

Prerequisites: One of SOSA 1000, 1050, 1100 or 1200; or SOSA 2181
Exclusions: SOSA 2180

This Commerce class will give you an appreciation of some of the legal problems that might be faced by the business community. It examines the meaning and sources of law; the machinery of justice; the law of torts; various aspects of the law of contracts and application of principles from equity; the law of agency; the law relating to the sale of goods; bailment; contracts of employment; negotiable instruments; real property; mortgages; partnerships; international transactions; corporations; and secured transactions. You’ll be required to make extensive use of the law library in writing reports on a series of cases.

Prerequisites: Students must be in at least their second year of studies.

This class, offered through the Psychology Department, will give you an introduction to the application of psychology to the various areas of the criminal justice system, such as the courts, corrections, and policing. In addition, you’ll examine the professional and ethical issues that arise when psychological knowledge is applied in forensic contexts.

Prerequisites: PSYO 1011/1012 or PSYO 1021/1022; or SCIE 1501, 1503, or 1510 (with a grade of B- or better); AND any 2000-level Psychology class.