Law 792:  Children's Health, Violence, and the Law

This seminar will examine the impact of violence on children’s lives. It will focus not only on children as direct victims of violence (such as child physical abuse) but also as consumers of violence (in the form of video games, rap and hip-hop music, movies and television) and perpetrators of violence. It will explore issues in culture affecting the well-being of children, including handgun violence, bullying, domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, the impact of media on children’s aggression, and risk factors for children becoming violent predators.

Prerequisites: None.  

Evaluation: To fulfill the requirements of the course, students will write a paper examining how the law can better promote children’s well-being in one or more of these areas through legislative, judicial, regulatory, or litigation initiatives. Students will also present a draft paper to the class so that they can benefit from their colleagues’ feedback. With permission of the professor, students may elect to use this course to fulfill the upper level writing credit.