Law & Politics Minor

• Law and Politics Minor
• 18 Units

• Complete ALL of the following Courses:

• ECO 201: Macroeconomics
• 3

This is a survey course of the scope and methods of the study of the principles of macroeconomics. Topics will include decision-making by households and firms, supply and demand, operation of markets and the determination of prices, the evaluation of social welfare within alternative economic systems, international trade and foreign exchange, financial markets, the role and objectives of government in economic policy.

• HST 309: The U.S. Constitution
• 3

This course will look at the origins of the American political system from the end of the Seven Years' War through the Louisiana Purchase and Marbury vs. Madison, with a focusing on government under the Articles of Confederation, the Constitutional Convention, ratification controversies, the first political party system, and Jeffersonian vs. Hamiltonian approaches to government. Offered alternate years. Cross listed with POL 309.

OR

• POL 309: The U.S. Constitution
• 3

This course will look at the origins of the American political system from the end of the Seven Years' War through the Louisiana Purchase and Marbury vs. Madison, focusing on government under the Articles of Confederation, the Constitutional Convention, ratification controversies, the first political party system, and Jeffersonian vs. Hamiltonian approaches to government. Offered alternate years. Cross listed with HST 309.

• Complete at least 2 of the following Courses:

• HST 315: Religion and Politics in America
• 3

Religion has been an integral part of the American experience, including the American political experiment with democracy. While there is an official separation of church and state in America, there is also a recognition that religion is a significant influence on both public and private life in America. Many observers and experts have marveled at the degree of religious intensity in one of the most modern, powerful, and wealthy nations in the world. Despite the abundance of material wealth in the United States, many Americans continue to be drawn to something beyond that materialism. In both the American past and present, cultural values and ideas are a major part of American politics. Cross-listed with POL 315.

OR

• ​POL 315: Religion and Politics in America
• 3

Religion has been an integral part of the American experience, including the American political experiment with democracy. While there is an official separation of church and state in America, there is also a recognition that religion is a significant influence on both public and private life in America. Many observers and experts have marveled at the degree of religious intensity in one of the most modern, powerful, and wealthy nations in the world. Despite the abundance of material wealth in the United States, many Americans continue to be drawn to something beyond that materialism. In both the American past and present, cultural values and ideas are a major part of American politics. Cross-listed with HST 315.

• HST 340: Race and Politics in America
• 3

An examination of the dynamics of race relations in modern America. While the course begins in post-Civil War America and continues to the present, it highlights the dramatic events of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, analyzing the role of ordinary individuals as well as those in various positions of government. Cross-listed with POL 340.

OR

• POL 340: Race and Politics in America
• 3

An examination of the dynamics of race relations in modern America. While the course begins in post-Civil War America and continues to the present, it highlights the dramatic events of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, analyzing the role of ordinary individuals as well as those in various positions of government. Cross-listed with HST 340.

• POL 343: Grand Strategy
• 3

This course will explore the aspect of statecraft in international relations known as “grand strategy” from a theoretical and historical perspective. This course traces how statesmen have or have not marshalled and coordinated the political, diplomatic, military, material, cultural, and moral resources available to a state, to achieve, or fail to achieve long-term objectives in the international environment during war and peace.

• Complete at least 1 of the following Courses:

• PHI 211: Philosophical Ethics
• 3

An introductory course to philosophy through the examination of major traditions of ethical reflection in the history of philosophy such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Kant, and Mill.

• THL 465: Christians and Ethics
• 3

Through an exploration of morality and ethics in light of what Scripture teaches, this course will orient students to the main approaches, both traditional and contemporary, of non-biblical philosophical ethics as they learn how the Christian faith interacts with these approaches. The significance of the Lutheran confessional distinction between God's left and right hand rule will also be explored. Student research and presentations on contemporary ethical issues are usually included. Prerequisite: (CTHL 101 or CTHL 200) and junior standing, or consent of instructor.

• Complete at least 1 of the following Courses:

• COM 211: Introduction to Argumentation and Debate
• 3

As a performance-based course, students will learn argument design, use of reason and evidence, and practice in a competitive academic debate setting with a focus on critical thinking, research skills, and the oral expression of arguments with rhetorical and presentational power.

• COM 340: Rhetorical and Persuasive Theories
• 3

Primarily from a social scientific approach, this course will examine the basic theories and techniques of influence, providing students with an awareness of the nature, function, and scope of attitude change as well as the concepts of attitudes, credibility, resistance to persuasion, ethics, and modern advertising practices.

• COM 344: Theory and Practice of Interviewing
• 3

This course will examine the theory and techniques of oral communication in the process of interviewing with the practical application to employment, information gathering (as in journalism and investigations), and persuasive interviews (as in selling and legal argument).