Legal History Courses

The courses listed below provide a taste of the Legal History courses offered at the Law School, although no formal groupings exist in our curriculum. This list includes the courses taught in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years. Not all of these courses are offered every year, but this list will give you a representative sample of the variety of courses we might offer over any two-year period. Other new courses will likely be offered during your time at the Law School.

PLEASE NOTE: This page does not include courses for the current academic year. To browse current course offerings, visit my.UChicago.

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Courses

American Indian Law

This course will consider the law governing the relation between non-tribal law and tribal law. This is the law of treaties, federal jurisdiction, and sovereignty. The Supreme Court has several cases on tribal issues each year, and with the rise of gaming and natural resources as major sources of wealth, the stakes in these cases for tribe members and non-members is increasing. Last year, the Supreme Court decided a case that suggests half of Oklahoma, including Tulsa, is actually "Indian Country," and subject, in part, to tribal law. The materials for the course will be mostly Supreme Court cases, as well as some historical materials necessary to understand the context of the judicial consideration of tribal jurisdiction. The flavor for this part of the course will be international law, although with a decidedly American approach.

This course will have a final exam. Participation may be considered in the final grading.

Previously:

• Winter 2024: M. Todd Henderson
• Spring 2023: M. Todd Henderson
• Spring 2022: M. Todd Henderson
• Autumn 2019: M. Todd Henderson

American Legal History, 1607-1870: Colonies to Reconstruction

This course examines major themes and interpretations in the history of American law and legal institutions from the earliest European settlements through the Civil War. Topics include law in British North America; law and politics in the American Revolution; the drafting, ratification, and interpretation of the U.S. Constitution; debates over federalism, citizenship, slavery, and the status of Native nations; and the constitutional and legal consequences of the Civil War. Students who have taken American Legal History, 1800-1870: Revolution to Reconstruction should not enroll in this course.

The student's grade will be based on a final examination.

Previously:

• Winter 2024: Alison LaCroix
• Winter 2023: Alison LaCroix

Anti-Discrimination Law

The objective of this mini-course is to provide students with a broad introduction to American anti-discrimination law. The seminar is interdisciplinary. We will explore the historical foundations of anti-discrimination 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. We will focus on specific areas of social life where anti-discrimination statutes actively prohibit unequal treatment (e.g., housing, education, public accommodations, and health care). This approach will lead us to examine a variety of categories within anti-discrimination law-from the (relatively) longstanding protected categories of race, sex, and religion-to more recent categories such as disability, sexual identity, and orientation. Several questions will guide us. 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 this class.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Shaun Ossei-Owusu
• Autumn 2023: Kimani Paul-Emile

The Constitution and the Civil War

This seminar will explore legal issues arising during and after the Civil War, through a mix of scholarship and primary sources. Possible topics include the legality of Lincoln's executive actions during the war, the constitutionality of military reconstruction at the end of the war, and the process of enacting the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, among many others. This seminar will require a Major paper (≥ 6000-7500 words). Participation may be considered in the final grading.

Previously:

• Winter 2024: William Baude

Critical Race Studies

This course provides an introduction to critical race theory through reading canonical works by critical race scholars; it explores a selection of current legal debates from a critical race perspective; and it contextualizes critical race theory through the study of related movements in legal scholarship, including legal realism, critical legal studies, and social science research on discrimination and structural racism. We will attempt to identify the ways in which critical race scholarship has influenced, or should influence, legal research and law school pedagogy. Requirements for this course include thoughtful class participation and completion of a series of short papers (6000-7500 words).

Previously:

• Spring 2023: William H. J. Hubbard
• Spring 2022: William H. J. Hubbard
• Spring 2021: William H. J. Hubbard

European Legal History

This seminar aims to give students an appreciation of the basic themes and most important events in European (as opposed to English) legal history. It begins with the Roman law formulated under the Emperor Justinian and moves forward to the 19th century. Among the subjects covered are Germanic law, the rise of legal science beginning in the 12th century, the nature of the ius commune, legal humanism, the reception of Roman law, the natural law school, and the movement towards Codification. In addition to the text book, students are expected to read one law review article each week and to share it with the class. They are permitted to write a research paper (6000-7500 words), but a final examination will also be offered as an option.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: R. H. Helmholz
• Winter 2021: R. H. Helmholz
• Autumn 2018: R. H. Helmholz
• Winter 2018: R. H. Helmholz

Evolution of Legal Doctrines

Legal doctrines have life cycles. They are born and mature. Many doctrines fade and die. There is a form of natural selection among doctrines, with several candidates offering to serve the same function in different ways. This seminar looks at the maturation and replacement of doctrines, posing the question why some die and others survive. Scope is eclectic: the doctrines range from "separate but equal" under the equal protection clause to the "original package doctrine" under the commerce clause, from the appointment of counsel under the Sixth Amendment to the understanding of the Rules of Decision Act (that is, why Swift gave way to Erie). The premise of the seminar is that those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it. Final grade will be based on: a series of short research papers (6000-7500 words) and class participation.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Taylor A. R. Meehan
• Winter 2024: Curtis Bradley
• Winter 2023: Alison LaCroix and Frank Easterbrook
• Autumn 2022: Curtis Bradley
• Spring 2022: William Baude
• Spring 2021: Alison LaCroix
• Autumn 2020: Fred O. Smith, Jr.
• Spring 2020: William Baude
• Spring 2019: William Baude
• Winter 2019: Aziz Huq
• Autumn 2018: Fred O. Smith, Jr.
• Spring 2018: Aziz Huq
• Autumn 2017: Adam Mortara

Greenberg Seminars: Capitalism and its Discontents

This Greenberg use popular films to delve into common critiques of modern capitalism. Each session will focus on a different topic, including the challenges of modern industrial life, class struggle, the excesses of Wall Street, and the 2008 financial crisis. As the characters endure the ups and downs of the market economy, we'll discuss the merits and pathologies of capitalism: what it gets right, what it gets very wrong, and what has very little to do with capitalism at all.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Emily Underwood and Adriana Robertson
• Winter 2024: Emily Underwood and Adriana Robertson
• Spring 2023: Daniel Y Abebe and Aziz Huq
• Winter 2023: Daniel Y Abebe and Aziz Huq
• Autumn 2023: Emily Underwood and Adriana Robertson

Greenberg Seminars: Free Speech on Campus

This Greenberg will explore a subject that is both important and close to home: free speech at universities. What principles should govern it, and how? Each meeting will focus on a specific real-world controversy or problem (some historical, some recent) to focus our discussion and perhaps sharpen our views. Potential topics might include: invitations and disinvitations, protests, trigger warnings or other pedagogical controversies, institutional statements and endorsements. We will also begin with some foundational and perhaps familiar documents from the University of Chicago and other schools. Our first two meetings are planned for: 10/12 and 11/7 from 7:30-9:30PM.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Bridget Fahey, William Baude
• Winter 2024: Bridget Fahey, William Baude
• Autumn 2023: Bridget Fahey, William Baude

Greenberg Seminars: Race and Public Health

This Greenberg seminar will examine the interaction of public health questions (broadly defined to include both the public health system generally and environmental determinants of health) and racial dynamics in the US and beyond. We will read five texts on different areas of this topic.

Graded Pass/Fail and is worth 1 credit which defaults to the autumn quarter.

The Greenberg Seminars Lottery will take place after the initial registration and bidding period, from September 14-16, 2022. Meetings have not been set by the faculty, but will likely take place on weekend mornings throughout the year.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Daniel Y Abebe and Aziz Huq
• Winter 2023: Daniel Y Abebe and Aziz Huq

Greenberg Seminars: Trials of the Centuries

In this Greenberg Seminar, we will examine famous trials from across the centuries (from the 17th century to today), using the trial as a prism through which to view changing ideas of guilt and innocence; the legal system; race, class, and gender; and personal responsibility. Class materials may include both readings and A/V media. Possible topics include the trial of Aaron Burr, the Salem witch trials, the O.J. Simpson murder trial, and the Nuremburg trials. This Greenberg will meet on 10/12 and 11/2 in the autumn quarter from 6:30-8:30PM.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: John Rappaport and Genevieve Lakier
• Winter 2024: John Rappaport and Genevieve Lakier
• Autumn 2023: John Rappaport and Genevieve Lakier

Hellenistic Ethics

The three leading schools of the Hellenistic era (starting in Greece in the late fourth century B. C. E. and extending through the second century C. E. in Rome) - Epicureans, Skeptics, and Stoics - produced philosophical work of lasting value, frequently neglected because of the fragmentary nature of the Greek evidence and people's (unjustified) contempt for Roman philosophy. We will study in a detailed and philosophically careful way the major ethical arguments of all three schools. Topics to be addressed include: the nature and role of pleasure; the role of the fear of death in human life; other sources of disturbance (such as having definite ethical beliefs?); the nature of the emotions and their role in a moral life; the nature of appropriate action; the meaning of the injunction to "live in accordance with nature". If time permits we will say something about Stoic political philosophy and its idea of global duty. Major sources (read in English) will include the three surviving letters of Epicurus and other fragments; the skeptical writings of Sextus Empiricus; the presentation of Stoic ideas in the Greek biographer Diogenes Laertius and the Roman philosophers Cicero and Seneca.

This class will begin on Tuesday, September 27 (one day before the rest of the Law classes begin). Attendance for the class is required.

Method of evaluation: A seminar paper of 6000-7500 words and an in-class presentation for the class is required.

Admission by permission of the instructor. Permission must be sought in writing by September 15.

PhD students in Philosophy, Classics, and Political theory do not need permission to enroll.

Prerequisite for others: An undergraduate major in philosophy or some equivalent solid philosophy preparation, comparable to that of first-year PhD students, plus my permission. This is a 500 level course.

Previously:

• Autumn 2022: Martha C Nussbaum

The Interbellum Constitution: Union, Commerce, and Slavery in the Early 19th Century

This seminar examines the legal and intellectual history of debates concerning U.S. constitutional law and politics between the War of 1812 and the Civil War, approximately 1815 to 1861. Topics to be discussed include the federal-state relationship, the role of the federal courts, the commerce power, internal improvements, federal and state regulation of slavery, the status of Native nations, and the development of American national identity.

This class will be variable 2-3 credit. Students who wish to earn 2 credits will be required to complete reaction papers. Students who wish to earn 3 credits must write a larger research paper that is 6000-7500 words long (but are not required to write reaction papers). Class participation will also be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Winter 2024: Alison LaCroix
• Spring 2023: Alison LaCroix
• Spring 2022: Alison LaCroix

Islamic Law

This seminar provides an introduction to the sources of Islamic law, its evolution over the centuries and its application in real-world cases. Although the focus of the seminar will be largely on the classical tradition, it will also introduce students to a variety of contemporary approaches to Islamic legal reasoning that guide the lives of Muslims today. Using a combination of historical and doctrinal approaches, the seminar will explore how Muslims over time have tried to understand God's commands laid down in the scriptures and how they have constructed from the rich sources of ethical speculations in Islam, bodies of positive, statutory law that reflect Islamic values. A significant part of the seminar will consist of several cases of the application of Islamic law in the contemporary Muslim world. We will cover case studies from Afghanistan, Egypt, Pakistan, Indonesia and several other Muslim majority countries to highlight the continuous evolution of Islamic law and to underscore the diversity of interpretive approaches to Islamic legal reasoning that has created a diverse body of sacred rules. The goal of the seminar is to introduce students to the nature, scope and functions of Islamic law in the classical and contemporary contexts and to present a framework for understanding the institutional arrangements that apply existing Islamic law in the modern world and make fresh rulings in areas where Islamic law provides no guidance.

This seminar will require a series of short research papers. Participation may be considered in the final grading.

Previously:

• Autumn 2022: Shamshad Pasarlay

Legal History of the Founding Era

This class explores the legal world of the late eighteenth century from the period just before the Revolution to the ratification of the Constitution. Among other topics, the class covers debates over the economic and political conditions that shaped the constitutional moment, and the implications of those debates for constitutional interpretation.

This course will have required reaction papers. Participation may be considered in the final grading.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Farah Peterson
• Spring 2023: Farah Peterson
• Spring 2022: Farah Peterson
• Spring 2021: Farah Peterson

Libertarianism

Although few Americans identify as "libertarians," the impact of libertarian thinkers--from John Locke to F.A. Hayek to Milton Friedman--on our polity is undeniable. Justice Holmes famously declared (dissenting in Lochner v. New York) that, "The Constitution does not enact Mr. Herbert Spencer's 'Social Statics'," but there can be no denying that the prevalent view of the Constitution on the Court has a libertarian vibe. In this seminar, we will read books (about one per week) on libertarian ideas by a range of authors, in terms of methodology, point of view, time period, type of author, and so on. The idea will be to engage critically with this material in the hopes of better understanding the core foundations of libertarian thinking and its applications, if any, in modern political and legal debates. A syllabus will be available in advance of course selection. Being a "libertarian" is not a requirement--non-libertarians, libertarian-curious, and everyone else are encouraged to participate, both as a means of understanding the world and enlivening the conversation. Students may take a final exam (2 credits) or write a paper (3000-4500 words) for 2 credits or write a major paper (6000-7500) for 3 credits. Note, SRP's may be 6000-9000 words. Participation may be considered in the final grading.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: M. Todd Henderson

Life (and Death) in the Law

This seminar will explore the various definitions and valuations of life across diverse areas of the law. Readings will include seminal cases in reproductive rights, assisted suicide, right-to-die, and capital punishment. Background readings in related areas, i.e., scientific journals, papers, etc. will also be required. The seminar will discuss policy decision-making including actuarial analysis and social, medical and religious values inherent, implicit or ignored in the legal analysis. Students will be required to write three response papers, co-draft a statute in one area of law, and participate in jury deliberations. Grade will also be based on class participation. This is a biddable class. Priority registration to 3L students.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Herschella Conyers
• Spring 2022: Herschella Conyers
• Spring 2021: Herschella Conyers
• Spring 2020: Herschella Conyers
• Spring 2019: Herschella Conyers
• Spring 2018: Herschella Conyers

Modern American Legal History

This course will introduce law students to the major problems and interpretations in the field of modern U.S. legal history. Through lectures as well as discussions of cases and secondary materials, the course will survey American public and private legal development from the Civil War to the present. The course employs a braided narrative, interweaving (a) the chronological story of the rise of modern legal liberalism and an administrative and regulatory state with (b) a week-to-week sampling of different historical topics, methods, and problematics. Topics to be covered this semester include: the 14th Amendment and the remaking of American citizenship, the constitutional rollback of civil rights and voting rights after Reconstruction, classical legal thought, corporation and labor law in the Lochner Era, progressive reform, pragmatism and legal realism, the origins of civil liberties, New Deal constitutionalism, the origins of modern rights revolutions, and the rise of neoliberalism. The course also attempts to introduce some of the theoretical and historiographical perspectives that have fueled some exciting new developments in the field. This class requires a major paper (6000-7500 words). Participation may be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Autumn 2022: William J Novak