BA in History, Law & Society

4 Years On Campus Bachelors Program

The American University of Paris

Program Overview

The History, Law & Society (HLS) major at The American University of Paris is an innovative, cross-disciplinary program that explores law not in isolation, but deeply intertwined with history, philosophy, politics, and society—perfect for students passionate about understanding how legal systems shape our world and drive change. Whether you're eyeing law school or just want to grasp why law matters in morals, politics, and economics, this program builds critical thinking, research skills, and a holistic toolkit for real-world challenges, all in Paris's vibrant intellectual hub.

Curriculum Structure
First Year
You'll dive into the foundations with *An Introductory Course to History, Law, and Society*, building literacy in legal reasoning through key texts, histories, and cases that trace the origins of today's legal issues. This sets the stage for hands-on learning, like performing a mock trial and writing persuasive papers blending history, literature, sociology, and law. It's your gateway to seeing law as a living force shaped by society.

Second and Third Years
Core skills sharpen in the *History Workshop*, where you'll master research methods—posing questions, gathering evidence, and presenting findings in seminars—to decode legal norms and their societal impacts. You'll tackle advanced topics like human rights, constitutional law, criminal law, and comparative law, plus seminars on environmental law, gender, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Practical twists, such as *Democracy Labs*, let you collaborate with NGOs on real projects like radical violence or education justice, bridging classroom theory with action.

Final Year
Culminate with the *HLS Capstone* and *Senior Seminar*, crafting an original research project, oral presentation, and final paper on pressing issues like legal doctrines' role in democracy or courts' impact on rights for women, children, and minorities. These intensive experiences hone your ability to think like a lawyer, legal historian, or philosopher, rewriting landmark decisions in legal writing workshops. Graduates emerge ready for top grad schools like Sciences Po, Cambridge, LSE, Columbia, or MIT.

Focus Areas
Human rights, constitutional and international law, comparative law, criminal law, environmental law, law in gender/education/Israeli-Palestinian conflict, moral foundations of law, legal institutions in democracy, plus hands-on Democracy Labs and Prison Education Workshops.

Learning Outcomes
Apply critical, interdisciplinary approaches to law and contemporary issues; conduct research, perform mock trials, and write analytically rigorous papers; understand historical/philosophical/political dimensions of law and its societal dynamics; decode legal norms' aims, flaws, and impacts.

Professional Alignment (Accreditation)
AUP's American-style liberal arts degrees are accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, preparing you for law school, grad programs, or careers in policy, NGOs, and international institutions with a holistic skill set.

Reputation (Employability Rankings)
HLS grads advance to elite institutions like Sciences Po, Cambridge, LSE, Columbia, and MIT; AUP boasts strong alumni outcomes in energy policy (e.g., IEA) and global leadership, leveraging Paris's innovative legal history from the Code Napoleon to modern rights advancements.

Experiential Learning (Research, Projects, Internships etc.)

At The American University of Paris, our History, Law & Society program dives deep into experiential learning, helping you build practical skills like analyzing historical cases, running mock trials, and debating real-world legal issues in small, international seminars. You'll tackle multidimensional perspectives on law through history, philosophy, and sociology, using Paris's rich surroundings—from monuments to museums—for hands-on exploration that sharpens your critical thinking and prepares you for law school or any global career. These opportunities connect theory to practice right away, with tools and spaces designed for collaborative, innovative work.

Here's how you'll gain that edge::

- Mock trials and case studies: Engage in small seminars contemplating historical and contemporary legal cases, plus mock trials with diverse classmates and professors from around the world.
- History Workshop and Senior Seminar: Develop hands-on historian skills—posing research questions, gathering evidence, and presenting findings to peers; cap it off with a major research project and oral presentation in an intimate setting.
- Site visits and field exploration: Regular trips to Paris monuments, museums, and key European cities to contextualize history, law, and society in real cultural settings.
- Center for Critical Democracy Studies (CCDS): Access conferences, events, and pedagogy seminars on democracy's history and practice, plus scholars-in-residence for talks that tie directly into your studies.
- Quai d’Orsay Learning Commons: Study and collaborate in this renovated Seine-side hub with its iconic glass roof, vertical garden, expanded seating, and social spaces perfect for group projects and discussions.
- AUP Internship Program: Tap into structured internships that apply your HLS skills in real professional settings, supported by the new Academic Success Center.

Progression & Future Opportunities

In the History, Law & Society program at The American University of Paris, you'll dive into practical skills through hands-on activities like mock trials, small seminars debating historical and contemporary cases, and collaborative research projects that sharpen your critical thinking and presentation abilities. These experiences are enhanced by AUP's state-of-the-art facilities, including the Quai d’Orsay Learning Commons right on the Seine, which houses the AUP Library, Academic Resource Center, study spaces, conference rooms, IT and multimedia support, and two key research centers perfect for your studies. This setup lets you connect theory to real-world application seamlessly, whether you're analyzing law's role in society or exploring global conflicts.

Here are some standout experiential opportunities tailored to History, Law & Society::
- Mock trials and seminars: Engage in interactive debates on historical and contemporary legal cases with diverse classmates and professors from around the world, building skills in argumentation and analysis.
- Research centers: Access the George and Irina Schaeffer Center for the Study of Genocide, Human Rights and Conflict Prevention and the Center for Critical Democracy Studies (CCDS), which host conferences, events, scholars-in-residence, and pedagogy seminars on democracy's history, theory, and practice—ideal for deepening your program's focus on law, history, and society.
- History Workshop and Senior Seminar: Conduct original research, pose key questions (problematiques), gather evidence, and present findings to peers—may be taken multiple times for credit, with field visits to Paris monuments, museums, and European sites integrated into the curriculum.
- Conference and event spaces: Utilize Quai d’Orsay's dedicated rooms for group projects, oral presentations, and discussions tied to journals like *The Tocqueville Review* and *Tocqueville21* from CCDS.
- Library and learning support: Tap into the AUP Library and Academic Resource Center in the Learning Commons for resources on history, law, sociology, literature, and more, plus IT/multimedia tools for digital research and projects—no specific software named, but full tech support available.