American Law Through Popular Culture

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The purpose of this course is to enrich your American experience by learning about the American legal system and laws. America has a rich legal history and legal customs that guide Americans every day. It unites Americans, but also separates them. As with any country, its laws on issues like speech, privacy, voting and equality, to name a few, deeply influence common day interactions, debates and decisions. You have likely already interacted with or been influenced by the American legal system, but you may not recognize it yet. This course aims to introduce you to the American legal system so that you can recognize its influences on you and the communities around you. Once you can do that, your experience here will be richer and more genuine.

American popular culture offers wonderful opportunities through movies, fashion, music and sports to learn about American laws. In many ways popular culture communicates ideas and issues in ways that everyone can understand. That is why popular culture is a great tool to use when teaching about the law. In this course we will use examples in popular culture to explore various legal topics. As we investigate each example we will naturally come to understand its influence on American society.

ASSIGNMENTS AND COMPLETION CERTIFICATE

All assignments must be completed in order to receive your course completion certificate. Course completion certificates will be uploaded in a shared folder on Google Classroom, and you will be able to download your certificate. If you need your certificate earlier, before class end date, you MUST let us know at least 1 week in advance. You can receive your certificate as early as 1 week after class has started, as long as you complete all required assignments.

ATTENDANCE

Attendance during the scheduled Zoom sessions is mandatory and we will be taking attendance! If you do not attend these, you will not receive a course completion certificate. Other than the Zoom sessions, you will be free to work whenever you want, at your own pace. You will have 4 weeks to complete all course requirements.

ONLINE FORMAT

This class will consist of readings, videos and assignments and posted on Google Classroom and a few scheduled Zoom sessions (Zoom is a video conference app). Both of these platforms are free and easy to use. You will be invited to join Google Classroom about a week before class starts. Check your junk mailbox, as invitations to join Google Classroom sometimes end up there. Please make sure you register for the course with a valid email address, since this is where you will receive an invitation notification to join Google Classroom. Your email has to be Google Classroom compatible, so it’s best if you use gmail, hotmail or yahoo. If you do not receive a notification, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to contact us.

There is NO pre-assignment for the online class. You might however be asked by your instructor, a few days in advance, to prepare a little bit for the first zoom meeting. The course syllabus, all readings and assignments will be posted on Google Classroom before the first zoom meeting.

You will attend the Zoom sessions by going to zoom.us and clicking “Join Meeting.” You will then enter a meeting ID number that will be provided to you. You can join via a computer, iPad or phone! We would prefer to see you, but if you do not have a camera on your computer, that’s ok. You can join via audio only. There is also an option to call in from your phone, in case your computer audio has any trouble connecting.

$250 | **ONLINE** | 36 hours (equivalent to 3 credits)

Contact Information

Office of Continuing Education
161 Newkirk Street, Room E504
Jersey City, NJ 07306
(201) 360-4224
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