Whitman College Introduces New Minor in Law, Culture & the Humanities
Beginning in Fall 2025, Whitman College will offer students the opportunity to explore the intricate interplay of legal systems, cultural practices and humanistic thought through a new interdisciplinary minor: Law, Culture and the Humanities. This program, co-directed by Associate Professor and Chair of Politics Jack Jackson and Paul Pigott and William M. Allen Professor of Ethics and Philosophy and Chair of Philosophy Patrick Frierson, builds upon Whitman’s history of legal studies while providing students with a unique approach to law.
A Multidisciplinary Perspective on Law
Jack Jackson
The Law, Culture and the Humanities minor will engage students in exploring law beyond traditional pre-professional frameworks. With courses spanning topics like constitutional law, gender and law, Indigenous politics, copyright law, and philosophies of punishment, students will discover how law shapes—and is shaped by—society and culture.
The study of law at Whitman goes back to the very early days of the college, so the program, though newly formalized, brings together the college’s academic legacy with an emphasis on innovations that expand educational opportunities.
Patrick Frierson
“The long history of excellent teaching and scholarship by the faculty of Whitman in the field of law helped inspire the creation of this new minor,” says Jackson. “The process of establishing the new minor has already facilitated both new intellectual collaborations across departments at the college and the creation of new courses in the departments of Anthropology, Sociology, and Rhetoric, Writing and Public Discourse.”
The minor will also integrate Whitman’s vibrant intellectual life outside the classroom, requiring students to attend approved guest lectures and campus events, such as the annual lecture honoring the legacy of Whitman alum and Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas.
“We have a number of brilliant scholars, intellectuals, activists, lawyers and judges visit the Whitman campus each year to deliver public lectures that engage with different aspects of law, culture and the humanities,” Jackson says. “For example, visiting lecturers speaking on theories of punishment, the sociology of sex work, the politics of law and violence, or the trial of Joan of Arc all fall within the orbit of the minor.”
A Minor for All Majors
While the minor may naturally attract students with aspirations of attending law school, it is intentionally broad in its appeal. It encourages participation from students across disciplines who are curious about the intersections of law, culture and human behavior. As Ellie Edwards ’26, a Politics major who plans to pursue this minor, says, “The courses I’ve taken that fall under this minor were some of the most engaging and inspiring of my college experience. They deepened my passion for the theory of law and its cultural implications.”
For students like Edwards, the minor not only formalizes their academic interests but also enhances their credentials for future endeavors. “Having this minor on my transcript shows grad schools that I am serious about understanding the complexities of law,” she says.
The Law Leads to Lives of Purpose
Whitman’s Law, Culture and Humanities minor exemplifies the liberal arts ethos of interdisciplinary exploration and critical thinking. Future generations of students will benefit from it, developing intellectual tools to address pressing societal questions and translate their learning into ethical and meaningful lives of purpose.