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About USC Gould
USC Gould is a top-ranked law school with a 120-year history and reputation for academic excellence. We are located on the beautiful 228-acre USC University Park Campus, just south of downtown Los Angeles.
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Academics
Learn about our interdisciplinary curriculum, experiential learning opportunities and specialized areas.
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Admissions
USC Gould helps prepare you for a stellar legal career. You can pursue a JD degree, one of our numerous graduate and international offerings, or an online degree or certificate.
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Students
Participate in an unparalleled learning experience with diversity of people and thought. Get involved in the law school community and participate in activities that enhance your studies.
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Careers
We work closely with students, graduates and employers to support successful career goals and outcomes. Our overall placement rate is consistently strong, with 94 percent of our JD class employed within 10 months after graduation.
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Faculty
Our faculty is distinguished for its scholarship, as well as for its commitment to teaching. Our 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio creates an intimate and collegial learning environment.
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Gary Watson
USC Gould School of Law
- FACULTY DIRECTORY
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- EXPERTS DIRECTORY
- FACULTY IN THE NEWS
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- + CENTERS AND INITIATIVES
- CENTER FOR DISPUTE RESOLUTION
- CENTER FOR LAW AND PHILOSOPHY (CLP)
- CENTER FOR LAW AND SOCIAL SCIENCE (CLASS)
- CENTER FOR LAW, HISTORY AND CULTURE (CLHC)
- CENTER FOR TRANSNATIONAL LAW AND BUSINESS (CTLB)
- INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM INSTITUTE (IRI)
- PACIFIC CENTER FOR HEALTH POLICY AND ETHICS
- SAKS INSTITUTE FOR MENTAL HEALTH LAW, POLICY, AND ETHICS
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Provost Professor Emeritus of Law and Philosophy
Email: gwatson@law.usc.eduTelephone: (213) 740-9046
699 Exposition Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90089-0074 USA Room: 324
Personal Website: Link
Last Updated: August 9, 2019
Gary Watson is one of the country’s leading philosophers, whose writings have shaped our understanding of the nature of moral agency, moral responsibility, freedom of action, and freedom of the will. His interest in concepts of legal responsibility target the relations between moral and criminal responsibility and the criminal law’s conceptions of moral agency.
Articles and Book Chapters
- “Psychopathic Agency and Prudential Deficits,” 113 Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 269 (2013) Part 3.
- “Responsibility and the Limits of Evil: Variations on a Strawsonian Theme,” in The Philosophy of Free Will: Essential Readings from the Contemporary Debates (Paul Russell and Oisin Deery, eds., Oxford University Press, 2013).
- “Asymmetry and Rational Ability,” Book Symposium: Making Sense of Freedom and Responsibility, 86 Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 467 (2013).
- “The Insanity Defense,” in The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Law (Andrei Marmor, ed., Routledge, 2012).
FACULTY IN THE NEWS
The New York Times
January 28, 2023
Re: Jody David Armour
Professor Jody Armour was interviewed by the New York Times about the recent policy brutality incident that led to the death of Tyre Nichols. “It’s not just a Black and white issue, but a Black and blue one. And when you put on that blue uniform, it often becomes the primary identity that drowns out any other identities that might compete with it," Armour said.
RECENT SCHOLARSHIP
Robin Craig
December, 2022
"Climate Adaptation in the United States." Frontiers in Marine Science 9 (2022) December. Special Topic: Ocean Governance and Climate Adaptation: Comparing Responses, Charting Future Courses.
Scott Altman
December, 2022
"Why Parents' Interests Matter." Ethics 133 (forthcoming 2023): 271.
Jonathan Barnett
December, 2022
"The China Innovation Challenge." Center for Strategic & International Studies interview, Washington, D.C.