The CSLD is pleased to announce two new classes for the Spring 2026 semester, open to both undergraduates and law students, offered in cooperation with the Department of Legal Studies and the UW Law School.
Law 940-011/Legal Studies 600-006 Foundations of Liberal Democracy is a three-credit course open to both undergraduate and law students (P/F only for law students). This interdisciplinary course examines the foundational elements of liberal democracy, exploring on both theoretical underpinnings and practical challenges of this approach to law and government with a range of experts on campus. Students will investigate the core building blocks of liberal democracy, topics that include individual rights & liberties, private property, markets, democratic institutions, rule of law, and constitutions. The course will also address tensions within the theory of liberal democracy itself and direct students’ attention to contemporary challenges like technological change and pluralism.
Law 940-002/Legal Studies 600, Catholic Legal Thought is a three-credit course open to law students and a limited number of undergraduate students. The class explores the principles and structure of Catholic legal thought in both civil and canon law traditions, introducing key concepts; examining the historical emergence of the Code of Canon Law, along with its influence on the development of both the adversarial and inquisitorial systems of Western Europe; and exploring the influence of Catholic legal thought on modern human rights law and American jurisprudence.