Cluster focus

The Law, Society, and Justice Cluster  resides in the Center for Law, Society, and Justice, a unit of the College of Letters and Science which offers two programs for undergraduate students: a major and a certificate program.  The major, the Legal Studies Program, focuses on interdisciplinary studies in the social sciences and humanities.  The certificate program, the Criminal Justice Certificate Program, focuses on the philosophy, theories, and operation of the adult and juvenile justice systems.  The Cluster draws on insights from many fields to examine the layered connections between law and social institutions, an area of inquiry that has become more important as law increasingly articulates public policy.

Cluster accomplishments

  • The Law, Society, and Justice Cluster has been instrumental in reinvigorating undergraduate law-related studies by providing core faculty for the Legal Studies Program.  The Program has over 450 prospective and declared majors, and it ranks in the top 20 of all majors on the Madison campus in terms of numbers of graduates.  The affiliated Criminal Justice Certificate Program involves about 250 students, and is the fourth largest certificate program on campus.
  • The Cluster faculty, along with other faculty affiliated with the Legal Studies Program, recently completed a voluntary self-study of the Program.  The self-study resulted in a revision and rationalization of the requirements for the undergraduate major.  One result of the self-study was to sharpen the focus of the major and to place increased emphasis on the role of law in the global context.
  • The College of Letters and Science made the Audrey J. Harris Endowment available to the Center for Law, Society, and Justice. This endowment has allowed outstanding students enrolled concurrently in the Legal Studies major the Criminal Justice Certificate Program to receive a stipend that helps defray some expenses incurred during the unpaid summer internship.  The endowment also has helped the Center bring renowned legal scholars to campus to give lectures and presentations, offering students and faculty wide exposure to legal studies issues.
  • The Legal Studies Program is an active member of a national colloquium of legal studies programs and has worked to enhance the quality of legal studies majors in the liberal arts nationally.

Cluster structure

Law, Society, and Justice Cluster faculty work with many distinguished affiliated faculty members at the Center for Law, Society, and Justice. The Cluster faculty also is instrumental in designing the curricula of the Legal Studies Program and the Criminal Justice Certificate Program. Each Cluster faculty member teaches at least one course per year specific to the Legal Studies Program and at least one course cross-listed between Legal Studies and the faculty member’s home department. The Center works closely with the Institute for Legal Studies housed in the University of Wisconsin Law School.

Cluster coordinator, faculty and lead dean

Cluster Coordinator

  • Howard Erlanger, Voss-Bascom Professor of Law, Professor of Sociology, and Director of the Center for Law, Society, and Justice

Cluster Faculty

Lead Dean