LAW 836: Gender Violence at School of Law

About this course

This seminar examines the ways gender violence intersects with multiple areas of law, policy, and practice. The course will review the history of legal reforms used to address intimate partner and sexual violence in the US with a focus on the perspectives of survivors from traditionally marginalized communities. It draws on interdisciplinary, theoretical, and empirical frameworks to explore the tensions among them, the ways that strategies implicate conceptions of identity, equality, and autonomy, and intersect with issues of race, class, culture, sexuality and gender identity, among other aspects of a survivor?s experience. Students will study key issues, cases, and commentary to analyze competing theories and strategies, and to understand the challenges facing survivors and their advocates. The seminar calls upon students to consider the successes and limitations of previous reform efforts and to conceptualize directions for the future.*Students will have an opportunity to work on projects with a local or national NGO working on gender violence issues. Students can earn an additional credit for the course through completing a project in conjunction with the community partner. Potential community partner organizations include the ACLU Women?s Rights Project, National Advocates for Pregnant Women, and Center for Survivor Agency and Justice.