BA in Humanities & Justice Studies
Rooted in history, literature & philosophy, Humanities & Justice prepares you for basic inquiry & advanced research into issues of justice that lie behind social policy & criminal justice as well as broader problems of social morality & equity. Its courses are designed to help you develop the skills of careful reading, critical thinking & clear writing that are necessary for the pursuit of any professional career.
This major provides an excellent preparation for careers in law, education, public policy & criminal justice, for law school & other professional programs & for graduate school in the humanities.
The Humanities & Justice curriculum involves a sequence of five interdisciplinary core courses in Humanities & Justice (designated with the HJS prefix) & seven courses from a list of humanities electives. Click here for information on this major from the John Jay College Undergraduate Bulletin.
Learning Outcomes
You will:
- Gain a comprehensive foundation in major concepts, underlying principles, values, issues, and theories of justice in the Western tradition.
- Gain a comprehensive foundation in non-Western traditions of justice in several historical periods through direct engagement with historical, literary, and philosophical primary texts.
- Identify and analyze the issues and theories embedded in primary texts concerning justice.
- Employ, compare and evaluate the methods of inquiry used in the disciplines of history, literary study, and philosophy.
- Produce well-reasoned, coherently written, evidence-based, argumentative analyses of primary sources.
- Investigate an original research question or research problem, and/or argue an original thesis, by engaging in a critical, rigorous, and ethical process of academic research.\
Credits Required
| Humanities & Justice Major | 36 |
| General Education | 42 |
| Electives | 42 |
| Total Credits Required for B.A. Degree | 120 |
Coordinator/Advisor. Professor Stephen Russell (srussell@jjay.cuny.edu), Department of History. Students must review their course of study with major faculty.
Advising resources. Humanities & Justice Advising Resources. Major Checklist.
Additional information. Students who enrolled for the first time at the College or changed to this major in September 2017 or thereafter must complete the major in the form presented here. Students who enrolled prior to that date may choose the form shown here or the earlier version of the major. A copy of the earlier version may be obtained in the 2016–2017 Undergraduate Bulletin.
Senior–level requirement. Students must complete HJS 410 Reading Scholarship in Humanities and Justice and HJS 415 Thesis in Humanities and Justice Studies.
Experiential learning opportunities. Students in the Humanities and Justice Major can participate in a variety of experiential learning opportunities over the course of their studies. During the freshman and sophomore year, students are we encouraged students to participate in experiential learning opportunities such as the Pre-Law Boot Camps. In the junior year, students are encouraged to engage in a credit-bearing n internship or practicum experience related to a career area of their choice for school credit. During the senior year, students participate in an extensive research experience associated with the capstone seminar, culminating in the presentation of original research. Students in Humanities and Justice have interned with law firms, non-profit organizations related to social justice such as NYC Together, and participated in study abroad programs.
Part One. Foundations
Required
| HJS 250 | Justice in the Western Traditions | 3 |
| HJS 310 | Comparative Perspectives on Justice | 3 |
| HJS 315 | Research Methods in Humanities and Justice Studies | 3 |
Subtotal: 9
Part Two. Humanities and Justice Electives
Students take seven 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 in Categories A, B, or C to count toward the major.
Select seven. A minimum of 12 credits must be taken at the 300-level or above.
| HIS 214 | Immigration and Ethnicity in the United States | 3 |
| HIS 219 | Violence and Social Change in America | 3 |
| HIS 224 | A History of Crime in New York City | 3 |
| HIS 242/POL 242/LLS 242 | U.S. Foreign Policy in Latin America | 3 |
| HIS 244 | History of Eugenics: Science and the Construction of Race | 3 |
| HIS 252 | Warfare in the Ancient Near East and Egypt | 3 |
| HIS 254 | History of Ancient Greece and Rome | 3 |
| HIS 255 | Famous Trials that Made History | 3 |
| HIS 256 | History of Muslim Societies and Communities | 3 |
| HIS 260/LLS 260 | History of Contemporary Cuba | 3 |
| HIS 264 | China to 1650 | 3 |
| HIS 265/LLS 265 | Class, Race and Family in Latin American History | 3 |
| HIS 270 | Marriage in Medieval Europe | 3 |
| HIS 274 | China: 1650-Present | 3 |
| HIS 277 | American Legal History | 3 |
| HIS 281 | Imperialism in Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East | 3 |
| HIS 282 | Selected Topics in History | 3 |
| HIS 323 | History of Lynching and Collective Violence | 3 |
| HIS 325 | Criminal Justice in European Society, 1750 to the Present | 3 |
| HIS 327 | History of Genocide: 500 C.E. to the Present | 3 |
| HIS 340 | Modern Military History from the Eighteenth Century to the Present | 3 |
| HIS 344 | Topics in Legal History | 3 |
| HIS 354 | Law and Society in Ancient Athens and Rome | 3 |
| HIS 356/GEN 356 | Sexuality, Gender, and Culture in Muslim Societies | 3 |
| HIS 364/GEN 364 | History of Gender and Sexuality: Prehistory to 1650 | 3 |
| HIS 374 | Premodern Punishment | 3 |
| HIS 375 | Female Felons in the Premodern World | 3 |
| HIS 381 | Social History of Catholicism in the Modern World | 3 |
| HIS 383 | History of Terrorism | 3 |
| HJS 215 | Race and Rebellion | 3 |
| HJS 380 | Selected Topics in Humanities and Justice | 3 |
| LIT 219 | The Word as Weapon | 3 |
| LIT 223/AFR 223 | African-American Literature | 3 |
| LIT 265 | Foundations of U.S. Latinx Literature | 3 |
| LIT 287 | Selected Topics in Literature | 3 |
| LIT 305 | Foundations of Literature and Law | 3 |
| LIT 311 | Literature and Ethics | 3 |
| LIT 314 | Shakespeare and Justice | 3 |
| LIT 315 | American Literature and the Law | 3 |
| LIT 316 | Gender and Identity in Literary Traditions | 3 |
| LIT 326 | Crime, Punishment and Justice in U.S. Literature | 3 |
| LIT 327 | Crime, Punishment and Justice in World Literature | 3 |
| LIT 340/AFR 340 | The African-American Experience in America: Comparative Racial Perspectives | 3 |
| LIT 342 | Perspectives on Literature and Human Rights | 3 |
| LIT 346 | Cultures in Conflict | 3 |
| LIT 348 | Native American Literature | 3 |
| LIT 366 | Writing Nature: Literature and Ecology | 3 |
| LIT 380 | Advanced Selected Topics in Literature | 3 |
| LIT 383 | Gender and Sexuality in U.S. Latinx Literature | 3 |
| LLS 322 | Latinx Struggles for Civil Rights & Social Justice | 3 |
| LLS 363 | Il-Legal Subjects: U.S. Latinx Literature and the Law | 3 |
| LLS 364 | Ethical Strains in U.S. Latinx Literature | 3 |
| PHI 203 | Political Philosophy | 3 |
| PHI 205 | Philosophy of Religion | 3 |
| PHI 210 | Ethical Theory | 3 |
| PHI 302 | The Philosophy of Rights | 3 |
| PHI 304 | Philosophy of the Mind | 3 |
| PHI 310/LAW 310 | Ethics and Law | 3 |
| PHI 315 | Philosophy of the Rule of Law: Theory and Practice | 3 |
| PHI 317 | Philosophy of Law in Global Perspective | 3 |
| PHI 322/CRJ 322 | Judicial and Correctional Ethics | 3 |
| PHI 326 | Topics in the History of Modern Thought | 3 |
| PHI 340 | Utopian Thought | 3 |
| PHI 423/POL 423 | Selected Topics in Justice | 3 |
| SPA 308 | The Theme of Justice in Spanish Literature | 3 |
| SPA 335 | Themes of Justice in Latin American Lit & Film | 3 |
HIS 282, LIT 287, LIT 380: 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 seven-course requirement of the Disciplinary Component when the topic is applicable to the Humanities and Justice major. ISP courses should be handled similarly. To get approval for these courses to count in the major, students and/or faculty must petition the major coordinator.
Subtotal: 21
Part Three. Problems and Research
Required
| HJS 410 | Reading Scholarship in Humanities and Justice | 3 |
| HJS 415 | Thesis in Humanities and Justice Studies | 3 |
Subtotal: 6
TOTAL CREDIT HOURS: 36