I recently declared as an LJST major! Many of you don’t know this, or won’t agree with me, but i think LJST majors should be commended simply for their commitment to explain exactly what they are majoring in to everyone they encounter outside of the Amherst community.

“So you are going to be a lawyer?”

“Well not necessarily. (From the Ljst Website) LJST is not a pre-law program designed to serve the needs of those contemplating careers in law. LJST majors will be qualified for a wide variety of careers. Some might do graduate work in legal studies, others might pursue graduate studies in political science, history, philosophy, sociology, or comparative literature. For those not inclined toward careers in teaching and scholarship, LJST would prepare students for work in the private or public sector or for careers in social service.”

“Uh, I don’t understand. What do you study?”

“Well, (from the Ljst Website https://cms.amherst.edu/academiclife/departments/ljst) The Department of Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought (LJST) places the study of law within the context of a liberal arts education. The Department offers courses that treat law as an historically evolving and culturally specific enterprise in which moral argument, distinctive interpretive practices, and force are brought to bear on the organization of social life. These courses use legal materials to explore conventions of reading, argument and proof, problems of justice and injustice, tensions between authority and community, and contests over social meanings and practices.”

“Oh, so you are gonna be a lawyer?”

“Sure.”

While some find these conversations frustrating, I have had a good deal of training with them. Setting: Kindergarten playground. Javini doesn’t believe that I am black and white.

“So are you black or white?”

“Uh, not either exactly, (from the bi-racial identity website http://amhpub.amherst.edu/zcherry10/) My racial identity is not designed to serve the needs of those contemplating using binary racial categories in order to arrive at stereotypical generalizations”

“Uh I don’t understand, what are you?”

“I like to think of myself as an individual. (from the biracial identity website) Someone who offers opinions that treat race as an historically evolving and culturally specific enterprise in which moral argument, distinctive interpretive practices, and force are brought to bear on the organization of social life.”

“Oh so you are mexican?”

“Sure”