Antidiscrimination Law (Ossei-Osusu)
Faculty
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| Shaun Ossei-Owusu Presidential Assistant Professor of Law oss@law.upenn.edu |
Additional Information
Skills Training
Drafting Legal Documents
Expository Writing
Other Professional Skills:
Grading
100% Exam
No
Class meets in person.
Course Continuity
Students are encouraged to stay home if you are ill or experience flu-like symptoms. If you miss a class for any reason, it is still your responsibility to make up the work missed.
I offer the following to students who miss class due to illness:
- Class sessions are regularly recorded. I will make these recordings routinely available on the course site to everyone in the class.
- I will make PowerPoint slides or other class materials routinely available on the course site to everyone in the class.
Meeting Times/Location
TR 3:00PM - 4:20PM
Gittis Hall 214
Category
First-Year
Credits
3.0
The central objective of this course is to provide students with a broad introduction to American antidiscrimination law. The seminar is interdisciplinary. We will explore the historical foundations of antidiscrimination law and situate them alongside key cases, empirical data, mainstream accounts, and normative arguments for why this field should (or should not) operate in a particular fashion.
Throughout the semester, we will focus on specific areas of social life where antidiscrimination statutes actively prohibit unequal treatment (e.g., housing, education, public accommodations, voting, health care). This approach will lead us to examine a variety of categories within antidiscrimination law—from the (relatively) longstanding protected categories of race, sex, and religion—to more recent categories such as disability, sexual identity, and gender orientation.
Several questions will guide us throughout the semester. Some include: What makes discrimination permissible in some contexts and deserving of legal regulation in others? Do these legal interventions go far enough? What are their limits? How can legislators realistically modernize existing statutory frameworks in ways that account for the shifting nature of discrimination?
There are no prerequisites for the course. The course will focus primarily on statutory antidiscrimination law (e.g., the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Housing Act, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Voting Rights Act) and minimally on constitutional issues (e.g., the Equal Protection Clause, constitutional torts). The seminar is designed to have minimal overlap with Employment Discrimination, Workplace Equality, and other employment law courses. Students who have taken these courses or are interested in taking them in the future are welcome and encouraged to enroll.
Courts and the Judicial System Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of both substantive and procedural issues in the operation of our legal system; Perform legal analysis in the context of procedural issues and the judicial process; Communicate effectively on topics related to procedure and the judicial process; Demonstrate an understanding of how procedural issues and the judicial process affect all other area of our legal system.
Perspectives on the Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate an understanding of how the law affects, and is affected by, the individual course topic; Perform legal analysis in the context of the individual course topic; Communicate effectively on the legal and other aspects of the individual course topic; Demonstrate the ability to use other disciplines to analyze legal issues relevant to the individual course topic, including economics, philosophy, and sociology, as appropriate.
Administrative and Regulatory Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of administrative and regulatory law and the administrative process, including the role of statutory authorization and work of administrative agencies; Perform legal analysis in the context of administrative and regulatory law; Communicate effectively on topics related to administrative and regulatory law; Demonstrate an understanding of the role administrative and regulatory law play in our legal system and in society as a whole.
Public Interest Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of the varied legal aspects of public interest law; Perform legal analysis in the context of public interest law; Communicate effectively on topics related to public interest law; Demonstrate an understanding of how public interest law is connected to and affected by a wide variety of legal and regulatory structures and doctrines.
Equity and Inclusion Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of the varied legal aspects of equity and inclusion; Perform legal analysis in the context of topics related to equity and inclusion; Communicate effectively on the legal aspects of equity and inclusion; Demonstrate an understanding of how equity and inclusion are connected to and affected by a wide variety of legal and regulatory structures and doctrines.