This course is a seminar on the history of institutions and institutional change in American cities from roughly 1850 to the present. Among the institutions to be looked at are political machines, police departments, courts, schools, prisons, public authorities, and universities. The focus of the course is on readings and discussions.

History of Rome from its humble beginnings to the fifth century A.D. First half: Kingship to Republican form; the conquest of Italy; Roman expansion: Pyrrhus, Punic Wars and provinces; classes, courts, and the Roman revolution; Augustus and the formation of empire. Second half: Virgil to the Vandals; major social, economic, political and religious trends at Rome and in the provinces. Emphasis on use of primary sources in translation.

Role of the engineer as patent expert and as technical witness in court and patent interference and related proceedings. Rights and obligations of engineers in connection with educational institutions, government, and large and small businesses. Various manners of transplanting inventions into business operations, including development of New England and other US electronics and biotech industries and their different types of institutions. American systems of incentive to creativity apart from the patent laws in the atomic energy and space fields. For graduate students only; others see 6.901.

This is the second in a sequence of two field seminars in American politics intended for graduate students in political science, in preparation for taking the general examination in American politics. The material covered in this semester focuses on American political institutions. The readings covered here are not comprehensive, but it is sufficiently broad to give students an introduction to major empirical questions and theoretical approaches that guide the study of American political institutions these days.

David Boeri reports that five Harvard alumni and other protesters were arrested for an apartheid protest outside the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University in November of 1986. Boeri notes that the protesters are acting as their own lawyers in court this week. Boeri reports that the defendants claim to have committed the lesser crime of civil disobedience in order to prevent the greater crime of economic support to the apartheid regime. Boeri reports that the judge has ruled that the defendants cannot use this line of defense and has refused to hear testimony about apartheid. Boeri notes that the defendants are testing the limits of the judges' ruling by continuing to introduce testimony about apartheid. Boeri's report includes footage of the proceedings in the courtroom. Don Carney (Cambridge Police Department) testifies against the defendants. Peter Bellotti (Assistant District Attorney, Middlesex County) objects to testimony by Sarah Browning (defendant) and Joel Reisman (defendant). Wendy Gershengorn (judge, Middlesex County) issues instructions from the bench. Boeri's report also includes footage from interviews with defendants Peggy Schirmer and Robert Wolff. Boeri notes that the trial will be slow and tedious. Boeri's report includes footage from an apartheid protest at the Fogg Art Museum.

Debra Stewart (witness) testifies during court proceedings in the criminal contempt trial of Michael Gaine (Hyde Park resident). Stewart says that Gaine urinated while facing the home of the Brooks family, made obscene gestures at the group outside of the home, and yelled Bertha Brooks's name loudly. Stephen Limon (Assistant Attorney General for the State of Massachusetts) calls Edgar Charles Brooks (witness) to testify. Brooks points out Gaine in the courtroom and says that Gaine slowed down as he walked by the Brooks home on the afternoon of August 22. Tape 2 of 5.

Edgar Charles Brooks (witness) and Bertha Brooks (witness) testify in the criminal contempt trial of Michael Gaine (Hyde Park resident). Both witnesses say that Gaine urinated while facing the Brooks' home and that Gaine yelled Bertha Brooks's name loudly. Bertha Brooks says that Gaine stared at her and made obscene gestures, and that she called police. Tape 3 of 5.

Alan MacEachern (Boston Police Department) testifies in the criminal contempt trial of Michael Gaine (Hyde Park resident). MacEachern describes the events on the afternoon of August 22. MacEachern says that Bertha Brooks told him that Gaine was on Ross Field in violation of a restraining order. MacEachern says that Brooks reported that Gaine urinated in front of her home; that Brooks did not mention any obscene gestures made by Gaine. MacEachern says that he told Gaine to leave the field and that he arrested Gaine after taking the incident report from Brooks. Stephen Limon (Assistant Attorney General for the State of Massachusetts) questions a Hyde Park youth who says that he was with Gaine on Ross Field on August 22. Gaine testifies about the events of the afternoon of August 22. Gaine says that he walked to Ross Field to join a group of friends on the afternoon of August 22 and denies harassing the Brooks family and their guests. Tape 4 of 5.

Globalization seems to lead towards uniformity, but this tendency is not observed in Mexico since joining many others in signing the International Labor Organization's Convention 169. This was the basis for promoting the recognition of uses and customs

In The Law of Corporate Finance and Financial Markets, much of the course focuses on M&A and the law-sensitive aspects of financial services and financial markets. The course is designed to be an introduction to business law which covers the fundamentals, including contracts, liability, regulation, employment, and corporations. 15.617 provides an in-depth treatment of the law of finance.

Christy George reports on efforts by the National Conference of Black Lawyers and women's groups to fight the nomination of Robert Bork (judge) to the Supreme Court. George reports that Bork believes in a strict interpretation of the Constitution, while African Americans and women's groups believe that the Constitution needs to be interpreted according to the changes in society since the 18th century. George's report includes footage from a meeting of the National Conference of Black Lawyers in Cambridge. Julie Walker (professor, University of Illinois at Urbana) and Adjoa Aiyetoro (Co-chair, National Conference of Black Lawyers) address the meeting. George interviews Gerald Horne (attorney and professor at Sarah Lawrence College), Margaret Burnham (attorney and retired judge), and Barbara Arnwine (Director, Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights) about their opposition to Bork. George notes that Bork's critics do not dispute his legal skills. George's report includes footage from an anti-Bork demonstration by women's groups on City Hall Plaza. George's report also features shots of racist literature from the 19th and 20th centuries.

This is a very broad primer in intellectual property law from the perspective of its original justification, and the basic legal and institutional distinctions that accompany it in the modern period (roughly 1700-2000).

Christy George interviews Dorchester residents about the William Atkinson murder case. Reverend David Venator (United Church of Christ) says that the state could have filed more charges against the defendants; that violations of the civil rights of minorities have become commonplace. Venator says that the Dorchester community needs to deal with the racial prejudice which provoked the death of William Atkinson (Boston resident). Christy George (WGBH reporter) comments that Venator has condemned racial prejudice more severely than Francine Atkinson (William Atkinson's sister). Venator says that he can condemn racial prejudice because he is white; that he does not condone any kind of violence. Venator says that the Atkinson case is an example of a civil rights violation; that he has never experienced racial violence to that degree as a white man. A white male Dorchester resident says that Atkinson's death was not an isolated incident. The man notes that the Dorchester community has reacted strongly and quickly against Atkinson's death. The man says that the Dorchester community intends to see justice done in this case. George asks a white female Dorchester resident if she thinks that the media attention given to the Atkinson case helped bring about a more thorough investigation and the filing of stronger charges. The woman says that the media coverage is a result of the strong reaction against Atkinson's death by members of the Dorchester community. George comments that many white Dorchester residents are supporting the cause of William Atkinson. The woman says that Dorchester residents of all races are working together to fight racial violence and to make Dorchester a safer community. The tape includes footage of court proceedings in Suffolk Superior Court. George Hurd (Judge, Suffolk Superior Court) presides over the courtroom. The lawyers for the defendants identify themselves. The five defendants each plead not guilty to the charges against them. The charges are read out loud. John Kiernan (Assistant District Attorney) makes bail recommendations for the five defendants.

This is a civil suit arising from a car crash that may have been caused by texting while driving. In a classroom, students play all the parts in this scripted simulation. In a courtroom, a real federal judge presides and attorneys coach the student lawyers at the counsel tables. Pre-assigned students play the parts of witnesses. All other students are jurors who deliberate in groups of 12. The trial simulation is followed by a conversation with probation officers about 15 decisions or situations -- like texting while driving -- that young people do not realize can have legal and long-term consequences.