Intersection Between Jewish and American Law (Stolzenberg)
Additional Information
Skills Training
Expository Writing
Other Professional Skills:
Grading
20% Participation,
80% Paper
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:
- If you are absent, due to illness or some other unavoidable circumstance, email me and I can ask for volunteers among your classmates to share their notes with you.
Meeting Times/Location
T 4:30PM - 6:30PM
Golkin Hall 238
Category
Seminar
Credits
3.0
Intersections Between Jewish and American Law This course examines various sites of legal controversy where Jewish law and American law intersect, including education, arbitration, child custody, circumcision, vaccination and abortion. Using case studies, we will explore the complex dynamics that attend the coexistence of competing legal jurisdictions, which include various forms of cooperation as well as conflict, in addition to conflict within the Jewish community over competing claims to legal authority. Both Jewish and American legal doctrines that pertain to the subject areas of our case studies will be delved into. But the primary focus will be on the political and philosophical questions that arise when Jewish and American law come into conflict or, alternatively, work together in ways that challenge conventional understandings of the principle of separation between religion and state. Legal theories, in particular, theories of separation between religion and state, religious liberty, legal pluralism and group rights will form the backbone of the course. Course requirements: Students are expected to come prepared to discuss the assigned readings. Students will write 3 short papers over the course of the semester: 2 analyses of the reading assignments and one op-ed on a subject that illustrates the themes of the class.
Constitutional Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of constitutional law; Perform legal analysis in the context of constitutional law; Communicate effectively on topics related to constitutional law; Demonstrate an understanding of constitutional law affects other areas of law.
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.