Fourteenth Amendment Seminar (LAW619) for Fall 2022
Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2022 2:01 pm
Professor Athena Mutua's Adv Con Law: Critical Readings seminar has been updated in light of this term’s Supreme Court decisions.
Through a series of critical readings, it will explore the meanings of the Reconstruction Amendments to the US Constitution, centering the Fourteenth Amendment. By focusing on the intersections of race, gender and class, it will examine the claim that the Supreme Court is in the process of stripping the federal government of its power to protect the citizenship and civil rights of its residents. To ground the discussions, the class will begin by reading Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade, followed during the semester by West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (also decided this term) and Shelby County v. Holder. While the class will read several cases, the focus will be on legal analyses captured in law review articles and other literature. Course requirements include short reflection notes (participation), a relevant 25-page research paper of the student’s choice and a class presentation of the paper.
Through a series of critical readings, it will explore the meanings of the Reconstruction Amendments to the US Constitution, centering the Fourteenth Amendment. By focusing on the intersections of race, gender and class, it will examine the claim that the Supreme Court is in the process of stripping the federal government of its power to protect the citizenship and civil rights of its residents. To ground the discussions, the class will begin by reading Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade, followed during the semester by West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (also decided this term) and Shelby County v. Holder. While the class will read several cases, the focus will be on legal analyses captured in law review articles and other literature. Course requirements include short reflection notes (participation), a relevant 25-page research paper of the student’s choice and a class presentation of the paper.