Why I Decided to Minor in Forensics and Criminality
By: Hannah Skinner ‘23
Like many other USC students, I made some academic changes when I was a first-year. All it took was one GE-D course, and I had found a new passion for Linguistics. I switched out of my Law, History, and Culture major but was not ready to completely let go of law. Adding the Forensics and Criminality minor became the perfect solution. I could take law related courses while exploring more specific interests of mine such as psychology and criminality.
The Forensics and Criminality minor perfectly demonstrates what interdisciplinary studies at USC looks like. An interdisciplinary minor or major forges together diverse perspectives and fields and allows students to see how these fields overlap. Forensics and Criminality combines aspects of law, psychology, and the criminal justice system into one minor. Additionally, an array of various courses allows students to personalize the focus of study even more.
So far, I’ve completed four courses towards my minor and my fifth and final one is in progress this semester. I first took AMST 101 (Race and Class in Los Angeles), where I learned about the intersections of race, gender, and economics in contemporary Los Angeles and covered topics such as residential segregation, economic inequality, and city politics. Next in PSYC 360 (Abnormal Psychology), I studied commonly diagnosed behavioral pathologies and abnormal behavior. Then I took SOWK 350 (Adolescent Gang Intervention) where, for the first time, I learned about LA gang incidence, gang intervention, and the types of policies that are developed or can be developed to address the situation. LAW 403 (Mental Health Law) covered legal practice of mental health law through the mental health system, the criminal system, and the immigration enforcement system. To finish it off, this semester I will complete PPD 314 (Public Policy and Law), where I will build on my foundation of the American legal system by learning about the intersection of law and public policy. None of these courses are in the same department, but together, they create the perfect course lineup to study law and deviant behavior.
You might be curious about what I’ll do with this combination of Linguistics and Forensics and Criminality after I graduate, and so am I! Language and the law go hand in hand, so I might pursue a legal career in the future. Another viable option is to work as a linguist for the government, possibly serving in a foreign consulate, assisting in trade negotiations, serving in intelligence agencies, or providing translation and interpretation skills. Mostly, I’m just continuing to keep my options open and exploring where my passions for language and law could take me.
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