What impact does law have on our lives? To what extent does law either control what we do or allow us to achieve what we want? Is the law the same thing as justice? Can the world be saved by law? This major examines broad theoretical issues about the nature of law and society as well as how the relationship plays out in particular fields of legal and social policy at both domestic and international levels. The fields you may study include human rights, decisions about birth and death, crime and justice, Indigenous rights, freedom of expression and religion. Studying Law and Society will help you develop important skills in research, analysis, teamwork and communication.
Outcomes
Students are able to (1) demonstrate comprehensive understanding with depth in what we know about the law, how it is made and how it works in our society; (2) demonstrate understanding of the underlying dynamics of the interdisciplinary field of law and society and its relationship to criminology including an in-depth understanding of legal reasoning, rules, institutions, players and power structures; (3) demonstrate understanding of the relationship between local, national and international legal systems, rules, practices and institutions; (4) demonstrate understanding of how law operates within social, cultural, political and historical contexts; (5) demonstrate well-developed cognitive skills to review, analyse, consolidate and synthesise knowledge, identify and solve defined problems, and exercise critical judgement and thinking in creating new understanding; (6) demonstrate well-developed bibliographic and referencing skills; (7) demonstrate basic time and project management skills; (8) demonstrate well-developed skills to present data and evidence in an appropriate format and communicate through written and oral media clearly, effectively and appropriately in a range of contexts for a variety of audiences; (9) demonstrate well-developed skills to work productively in a group; (10) use judgement and initiative by developing (a) ethical approaches and mature judgement in practical and academic matters; and (b) the capacity for effective citizenship, leadership and teamwork; and (11) take responsibility and accountability for their own learning having developed attitudes which (a) value learning; and (b) respect Indigenous knowledge, values and culture.
Degree-specific major
Law and Society can be taken as a degree-specific major in the following degree courses:
BP001 Bachelor of Arts
BH005 Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours)
Overview of unit sequence
Law and Society is a degree-specific single major comprising:
- two Level 1 units
- three Level 2 units
- three Level 3 units
| Key to availability of units: |
|---|
| S1 = Semester 1; S2 = Semester 2; N/A = not available in 2020 |
Note:%before_text% Units that are indicated as N/A may be available in 2021 or 2022.
Level 1
Take all units (12 points):
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 | LAWS1110 | Crime and Society | |
| S1 | LAWS1111 | Law, Conflict and Change |
Level 2
Take the following unit:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 | LAWS2227 | Law in Action |
|
Take unit(s) to the value of 12 points:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | EMPL2309 | Work and the Law | |
| N/A | LAWS2018 | Law and Literature |
|
| S2 | LAWS2220 | Birth, Life, Death and the Law | |
| S1 | LAWS2223 | Criminal Justice Systems |
|
| S2 | LAWS2224 | Evolution of Human Rights |
|
| N/A | LAWS2225 | Indigenous Peoples and the Law | |
| S1 | LAWS2226 | International Legal Institutions |
|
Level 3
Take the following unit:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 | LAWS3316 | Law, Advocacy, Activism and Change |
|
Take unit(s) to the value of 12 points:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | LAWS3221 | Creative Expression and the Law | |
| S1 | LAWS3317 | Social Media and the Law | |
| S2 | LAWS3330 | Gender and the Law | |
| N/A | LAWS3334 | Law and Religion |
|
| N/A | LAWS3344 | Law and Contemporary Social Issues |
|
| S2 | LAWS3374 | Crime, Justice and Public Policy |
Choosing your degree-specific major
You must satisfy the requirements of a degree-specific major before you complete your course. The flexible structure of an undergraduate course allows you to try out a number of different subjects to see what interests you before nominating your degree-specific major. You have the choice to either nominate your degree-specific major when you first enrol in the course or delay nominating it until your second year.
To plan the first year of your study without nominating a degree-specific major, you are advised to choose units that will pave the way to two or more degree-specific majors that are of interest to you. For examples of the choice of units available in first year, search the first-year study plans .
To fully understand the structure of an undergraduate course, read the course structure information and the Undergraduate Degree Course Rules.
The following example illustrates how the Law and Society degree-specific major can be included in the Bachelor of Arts course.
There are more choices open to you. For more examples, search the study plans .
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Choosing a second major
You also have the option to choose a second major from those available in the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Biomedical Science, Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Design Only available to re-enrolling students. or Bachelor of Science course, giving you the opportunity to pursue your interests no matter how different they are.
The following example illustrates how the Law and Society degree-specific major can be combined with a second major in the Bachelor of Arts course.
For more examples of combinations of majors, search the study plans .
Law and Society can also be taken as a second major.
Second major
Law and Society can be taken as a second major in the following degree courses:
- BP001 Bachelor of Arts
- BP006 Bachelor of Biomedical Science
- BP002 Bachelor of Commerce
- BP003 Bachelor of Design Only available to re-enrolling students.
- BP004 Bachelor of Science
- BH005 Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours)
Overview of unit sequence
The Law and Society second major is a single major comprising:
- two Level 1 units
- three Level 2 units
- three Level 3 units
| Key to availability of units: |
|---|
| S1 = Semester 1; S2 = Semester 2; N/A = not available in 2020 |
Note:%before_text% Units that are indicated as N/A may be available in 2021 or 2022.
Level 1
Take all units (12 points):
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 | LAWS1110 | Crime and Society | |
| S1 | LAWS1111 | Law, Conflict and Change |
Level 2
Take the following unit:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 | LAWS2227 | Law in Action |
|
Take unit(s) to the value of 12 points:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | EMPL2309 | Work and the Law | |
| N/A | LAWS2018 | Law and Literature |
|
| S2 | LAWS2220 | Birth, Life, Death and the Law | |
| S1 | LAWS2223 | Criminal Justice Systems |
|
| S2 | LAWS2224 | Evolution of Human Rights |
|
| N/A | LAWS2225 | Indigenous Peoples and the Law | |
| S1 | LAWS2226 | International Legal Institutions |
|
Level 3
Take the following unit:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 | LAWS3316 | Law, Advocacy, Activism and Change |
|
Take unit(s) to the value of 12 points:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | LAWS3221 | Creative Expression and the Law | |
| S1 | LAWS3317 | Social Media and the Law | |
| S2 | LAWS3330 | Gender and the Law | |
| N/A | LAWS3334 | Law and Religion |
|
| N/A | LAWS3344 | Law and Contemporary Social Issues |
|
| S2 | LAWS3374 | Crime, Justice and Public Policy |
Choosing a second major
The flexible structure of an undergraduate course allows you the option of including a second major. You have the choice to either nominate your second major when you first enrol in the course or delay it until your second year. For a major to be recorded on your academic record it must be nominated before the requirements of the course are completed.
To fully understand the structure of an undergraduate course, read the course structure information and the Undergraduate Degree Course Rules.
The following example illustrates how Law and Society can be included as a second major in an undergraduate degree course.
For more examples of combinations of majors, search the study plans .
Law and Society can also be taken as a degree-specific major.