About Humanities and Justice
HUMANITIES AND JUSTICE MAJOR - Bachelor of Arts
The Humanities and Justice major offers students the opportunity to explore fundamental questions about justice from a humanistic, interdisciplinary perspective. Rooted in history, literature and philosophy, Humanities and Justice prepares students for basic inquiry and advanced research into issues of justice that lie behind social policy and criminal justice as well as broader problems of social morality and equity. Its courses are designed to help students develop the skills of careful reading, critical thinking and clear writing that are necessary for the pursuit of any professional career. This major provides an excellent preparation for law school and other professional programs, for graduate school in the humanities, and for careers in law, education, public policy and criminal justice. The Humanities and Justice curriculum involves a sequence of five interdisciplinary core courses in Humanities and Justice (designated with the HJS prefix); six courses from a list of humanities courses and a choice of one of two courses on theory.
Students must review their course of study with a faculty adviser in order to insure its breadth and coherence. The program coordinator will assign an adviser to each Humanities and Justice student.
Coordinator: Professor Kyoo Lee, Department of Philosophy (212.237.8342, hjscoordinator@jjay.cuny.edu).
Credits required. 36
Prerequisites: ENG 201, one of the general education courses in literature, history, or philosophy; one of the general education courses in the social sciences, and upper-sophomore class standing.
Please note: GOV 101 or POL 101 is a prerequisite for POL 375 and LAW 203 or POL 301 is a prerequisite for LAW 301. Part III of the major requires either POL 375 (or GOV 375) or LAW 301.
Senior-level requirement. Students must complete HJS 410 Problems and Theory: Thesis Prospectus and HJS 415 Thesis in Humanities and Justice Studies.
Humanities and Justice Curriculum:
PART ONE. REQUIRED COURSES: (three courses) Subtotal: 9 credits
- Humanities and Justice 250. Justice in the Western Traditions
- Humanities and Justice 310. Comparative Perspectives on Justice
- Humanities and Justice 315. Research Methods in Humanities and Justice Studies
PART TWO. HUMANITIES AND JUSTICE ELECTIVES: (six courses) Subtotal: 18 credits
Students take six advanced elective courses in one or more of the humanities disciplines in order to explore how the fundamental assumptions, methods and general subject matter of these disciplines relate to issues of justice. These courses will be chosen by the student with faculty advisement, from the following list. Permission by the Humanities and Justice Coordinator is required for any course not listed below to count toward the major. A minimum of 12 credits must be taken at the 300-level or above.
HIS 217 History of New York City
HIS 219 Violence and Social Change in America
HIS 224 A History of Crime in New York City
HIS 240 Historiography
HIS 252 Warfare in the Ancient Near East and Egypt
HIS 254 History of Ancient Greece and Rome
HIS 256 History of Muslim Societies and Communities
HIS 260/LLS 260 History of Contemporary Cuba
HIS 264 China to 1650
HIS 265/LLS 265 Class, Race, and Family in Latin American History
HIS 270 Marriage in Medieval Europe
HIS 274 China: 1650 to Present
HIS 277 American Legal History
HIS 282 Selected Topics in History*
HIS 320 The History of Crime and Punishment in the United States
HIS 323 History of Lynching and Collective Violence
HIS 325 Criminal Justice in European Society, 1750 to the Present
HIS 340 Modern Military History
HIS 354 Law and Society in Ancient Athens and Rome
HIS/GEN 364 History of Gender and Sexuality: Prehistory to 1650
HIS 374 Premodern Punishment: Crime and Punishment before 1700
HIS 375 Female Felons in the Premodern World
HIS 381 Social History of Catholicism in the Modern World
HIS 383 History of Terrorism
ISP 273 The Stories We Tell
ISP 321Moral, Legal, and Ethical Dilemmas that Shape the USA
ISP 322 Making Waves: Troublemakers, Gadflies and Whistleblowers
ISP 335 Violence in the Pursuit of Justice
LIT 219 The Word as Weapon
LIT 223/AFR 223 African-American Literature
LIT 265 Foundations of U.S. Latino/a Literature
LIT 287 Selected Topics in Literature*
LIT 300 Text and Context
LIT 305 Foundations of Literature and Law
LIT 311 Literature and Ethics
LIT 313 Shakespeare
LIT 314 Shakespeare and Justice
LIT 315 American Literature and the Law
LIT 316 Gender and Identity in Western Literary Traditions
LIT 326 Crime, Punishment and Justice in U.S. Literature
LIT 327 Crime, Punishment and Justice in World Literature
LIT 340/AFR 340 African- American Experience in America: Comparative Racial Perspectives
LIT 342 Perspectives on Literature and Human Rights
LIT 346 Cultures in Conflict
LLS 322 Latina/o Struggles for Civil Rights and Social Justice
PHI 203 Political Philosophy
PHI 205 Philosophy of Religion
PHI 210 Ethical Theory
PHI 302 Philosophical Issues of Rights
PHI 304 Philosophy of the Mind
PHI 310/LAW 310 Ethics and Law
PHI 315 Philosophy of the Rule of Law
PHI 322/CRJ 322 Judicial and Correctional Ethics
PHI 326 Topics in the History of Modern Thought
PHI 340 Utopian Thought
PHI 343 Existentialism
PHI 354/AFR 354 Africana Philosophy
PHI 400 Senior Seminar in Ethics
PHI 423/POL 423 Selected Topics in Justice
SPA 308 The Theme of Justice in Spanish Literature
SPA 335 The Theme of Justice in Latin American Literature and Film* HIS 282 Selected Topics in History, LIT 287 Selected Topics in Literature, LIT 380 Advanced Selected Topics in Literature and LIT 401 Special Topics may be used to satisfy the six-course requirement of the Disciplinary Component when the topic is applicable to the Humanities and Justice major. To approve these courses for inclusion in the major, students and/or faculty must petition the program coordinator.
PART THREE. TOPICS IN POLITICAL OR LEGAL THEORY: (1 course) Subtotal: 3 credits
Law 301. Jurisprudence or Political Science 375. Law, Order, Justice and Society
PART FOUR. PROBLEMS AND RESEARCH: (two courses) Subtotal: 6 credits
- Humanities and Justice 410. Text and Theory: Senior Prospectus
- Humanities and Justice 415. Research Project in Humanities and Justice Studies
Major Total: 36 credits