Course Description

This course explores a range of contemporary legal issues and how they are addressed in both Canadian and international law. Students will develop an understanding of the principles of Canadian and international law and of issues related to human rights and freedoms, conflict resolution, and criminal, environmental, and workplace law, both in Canada and internationally. Students will apply the concepts of legal thinking and the legal studies inquiry process, and will develop legal reasoning skills, when investigating these and other issues in both Canadian and international contexts.

Prerequisite

Any university or university/college preparation course in Canadian and world studies, English, or social sciences and humanities.

Sample Activity

 

Teacher

Mr Lewis (St. Andrew’s College)

Course Delivery

This course is run on Blackboard. All course content is included in lesson modules, videos, and documents.  Students also have opportunities to expand their knowledge by researching and contributing additional relevant content according to their interests.  Through this process, the students learn about the most useful online resources available for legal research in Canada.

Students will consider questions such as

  • Is violence ever justified in achieving needed change to the legal system?
  • Should parents ever be held legally responsible for their children’s actions?
  • Are there circumstances under which collective rights should take priority over individual rights?
  • Who owns ideas and what rights should they have?
  • How effective are international courts?

Synchronous conferences are conducted once every two weeks.  Each session lasts approximately half an hour. These are used for support, discussion, and presentation.

Assessment and Evaluation

Our online discussions are the main component of the course; they help students to connect with classmates as well as with the course content.  Other assessments include written case briefs, court pleadings, and a formal exam. One of our assessments involves the creation of a video presentation, which is shared with classmates. Commentary and discussion is made in chat style, so that there is always time to think and formulate contributions.