JURI 610 Jurisprudence/Legal History

This course is an introduction to the many schools of jurisprudence. Jurisprudence is the study of legal philosophy. An examination of the nature and meaning of the legal past, particularly the Western legal tradition, with a primary focus on the historical relationship between church and state; and the biblical and theological foundations of the Western legal tradition and the English Common Law heritage. Particular emphasis is given to formulating principles of a distinctively Christian jurisprudence and on reading primary materials.

Fundamental theological and philosophical presuppositions shape the way human beings understand social institutions, including the law. This includes the view of the nature of the law, the place of positive norms, natural law, and historical ideas in the establishment, and development of legal institutions, principles, and norms. The Christian worldview integrates diverse legal ideas and serves as a foundation for jurisprudence.

Textbook readings and lecture presentations

No details available.

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (3)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student is required to post a thread in response to the provided prompt for each Discussion. Each thread must be 400–500 words, demonstrate course-related knowledge, and be supported by 3 sources in current Bluebook format. In addition to the thread, the student is required to reply to 2 classmates’ threads. Each reply must be 150–200 words and include 2 sources.

Research Paper Assignments (2)

The student will write two 2,800–3,000-word research-based papers in current Bluebook format that focus on the following topics: natural law and legal positivism, and justice and rights. Each paper must include at least 10 references drawn from at least 5 separate sources. The word count does not include citations.

Note: LL.M students must add an additional 2,500 words of writing in their final paper. This is a Pass/Fail component of this assignment. This is not required of the JM students.

This quiz will cover the Learn material for the assigned module: week. This quiz will be open-book/open-notes, will contain 10 multiple-choice and/or true/false questions and 9 short-answer questions, and have a time limit of 1 hour and 40 minutes.

This quiz will cover the Learn material for the assigned module: week. This quiz will be open-book/open-notes, will contain 10 multiple-choice and/or true/false questions and 7 short-answer questions, and have a time limit of 1 hour and 40 minutes. 

This quiz will cover the Learn material for the assigned module: week. This quiz will be open-book/open-notes, will contain 5 multiple-choice questions and have a time limit of 25 minutes.

This quiz will cover the Learn material for the assigned module: week. This quiz will be open-book/open-notes, will contain 10 multiple-choice and/or true/false questions and 9 short-answer questions, and have a time limit of 1 hour and 40 minutes.