Gender and the Law

This course offers a critical examination of issues and debates relating to gender difference, dominance and disadvantage.  Beginning with a theoretical overview, the seminar culminates in substantial scrutiny of instances of judicial and legislative interventions in matters of education, employment, privacy, violence, and the impact and implications for the status, roles and rights of women.  Drawing from various strands of feminists thought, the seminar seeks to conceptualize difference as a means of analyzing the law’s approach to the realities and experiences of women.  Ultimately, the endeavor is to articulate and critique the assumptions, arguments and conclusions that underlie discernable patterns of discrimination that pervade and define the daily lives of women.  It is expected that, by the conclusion of the seminar, students have acquired a more critical appreciation of the complex variables that bear on the construction of “woman,” the commonalities and differences among women, as well as the extent to which the legal framework ameliorates and perpetuates gender inequality and inequity.  For the most part, our discussions are eclectic, emphasizing historical, socio-economic, and cross-cultural dimensions and perspectives.