The Urgent Need for Inclusion of Political Psychologyin Law Courses in Brazil

Abstract

This research supports the urgent need to include Political Psychology as a curricular component in the Law Courses of Law Faculties of Brazil, public or private. To do so, it initially contemplates general notions of the concept of Political Psychology, pointing it as a "dynamic interdisciplinary field" that observes political phenomena by the individual and the collective, with themes of central interest and social relevance. Afterwards, it presents the interface of Political Psychology with Law, for example, to correlate objects of study of that with subjects covered in some subjects of the Course in question, such as Constitutional Law and Legal Psychology, among others. For analysis, it is based on the curriculum of the six best courses according to the Folha’s University Ranking. From this, it can be noted that Political Psychology could act as an interdisciplinary subject, with a high critical-reflexive content, which could help Law students to this type of vision, as well as generate the deepening of discussions about the applicability of institutes, the role and effectiveness of laws, as well as, most important, the potential of law in the face of contemporary issues. It is maintained that the student will also be a better citizen, aware of himself and the community. As a final topic, Political Psychology will be recommended as a component in Law Courses, suggesting compulsory nature, which is essential for the training of all students. The hypothesis of structuring the Political Psychology of Law will be raised, at the mercy of what happened in legal courses with Philosophy and Legal Psychology.