There will be three elective courses: Economics, Government and Law, which will meet five times throughout the week. These will be traditional lecture courses, not unlike those that are conducted at college.

The Government Course deals with a number of questions of current interest as well as political historical value. Matthew Parent is a PhD candidate in Political Science at the University of Connecticut, studying military technology and international relations. He holds an MA in Political Science from UConn (2015), a Graduate Certificate in Human Rights from UConn (2015), an MA in World Politics from the Catholic University of America (2012), and a BA in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst; 2010). He is published in the Journal of Intelligence and National Security, and online at War on the Rocks. Matt has also taught coursework on international relations, security studies, and international organizations at UConn and Clark University.

The Economics Course will have different lecturers and topics. James Myatt is economic consultant, supporting expert testimony in complex antitrust litigation and mergers. He received his Ph. D. in Economics from Northwestern University in 2018. He also holds an M.A. in Economics from Northwestern and a B.S. from New York University in Economics and Mathematics. He is an alumnus of Milford High School.

The Law Course is taught by Hon. Dennis J. Curran, (Ret.). Justice Curran is a Boys’ State alumnus and grew up in Boston, where he graduated from Boston Latin School. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and his law degree from the University of Virginia. As a trial judge, he presided over 450 civil and criminal trials. He has received four state-wide awards for judicial excellence.

He has a robust program planned for the law course:

  • Hollywood and the Courtroom: The Anatomy of a Trial – Parts I and II: Justice Curran will show 14 courtroom scenes from famous movies and discover why they are so powerful, and what they teach us about the trial process. The movie clips have been selected to showcase instances of injustice and highlight the concepts of liberty, race, justice, crime and punishment.
  • Behind the Judicial Curtain: Secrets of a Trial Judge: This talk focuses on the behind-the-scenes process by which judges make their decisions. We will also take a behind-the-scenes private virtual tour of the United States Supreme Court.
  • The Disappearance of Dr. Parkman: Blood & Ivy at the Harvard Medical School: This trial examines the most legally historic murder trial in the history of Massachusetts. In this 1849 case, a Harvard Medical School Professor and physician murders another Harvard Medical School Professor, dismembers the corpse and hides the body parts in his medical school office. This case established, for the first time, the legal principle of “beyond a reasonable doubt”, a requirement that has since been adopted by every state in the nation.