Complementary, Multi-Disciplinary, and Cross-Listed Courses

The courses listed below provide a taste of the clinical courses offered at the Law School. 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

Advanced Topics in Law and Computing

This interdisciplinary seminar will bring together instructors and graduate students from Computer Science / Data Sciences and the Law School. The seminar's focus will be on topics where law and policy intersect with computer science. Such topics may include cryptography and encryption; electronic surveillance and criminal procedure; the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act; the law governing data breaches; redistricting and the US Census; deep fakes; GDRP, Europe's Digital Services Act and the CCPA; and international data transfers. Students will be evaluated on the basis of short bi-weekly reaction papers, class participation based on weekly assigned reading, and team projects that pair law students with computer and data scientists.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Lior Strahilevitz and Aloni Cohen

Advanced Topics in Moral, Political, and Legal Philosophy: Marx's Phil. and Its 20th-Century Dev.

The first half of the seminar will introduce major themes of Marx's philosophy-historical materialism, aspects of his economics relevant to his critique of capitalism, Marx's early theory of human nature and flourishing, and the theory of ideology (especially as applied to morality and law)-while the second half will consider the reception and development of Marx's ideas in 20th-century Continental European thought, with a particular focus on the theory of ideology (e.g., Lukacs, Gramsci, Sartre, Althusser) and the application of that theory to art and aesthetics (e.g., Adorno, Benjamin, Lifshits). (IV)Open to philosophy PhD students without permission and to others with permission; those seeking permission should e-mail Leiter with a resume and a detailed description of their background in philosophy (not necessarily in the study of Marx or Marxist philosophy). In the event of demand, preference will be given to J.D. students with the requisite philosophy background. (I) and (III) M. Forster; B. Leiter

This class requires a major paper of (6000-7500 words).

For SRP credit students will have to do additional work in consultation with the instructors.

Previously:

• Winter 2023: Brian Leiter and Michael N Forster
• Winter 2022: Brian Leiter and Michael N. Forster

Advanced Topics in Moral, Political, and Legal Philosophy: Nietzsche's Theory of Value

The seminar will explore aspects of Nietzsche's theory of value, especially concerning morality and aesthetics, in the context of two major intellectual 19th-century influences on his thought: naturalism (especially through Schopenhauer and German Materialism) and Romanticism. The first half of the seminar (led by Leiter) will emphasize naturalistic themes in his understanding of morality in On the Genealogy of Morality and excerpts from Beyond Good and Evil. The second half (led by Forster) will examine the influence of Romanticism, including in The Birth of Tragedy and selections from his later works.

This seminar will require a major paper (≥ 6000-7500 words). For SRP credit students will have to do additional work in consultation with the instructors.

Previously:

• Winter 2024: Brian Leiter and Michael N Forster

Anthropology and Law

This seminar for law students and graduate students in the social sciences will provide an introduction to the field of legal anthropology. We will address anthropological theories of the nature of law and disputes, examine related studies of legal structures in non-Western cultures, and consider the uses of anthropology in studying facets of our own legal system. By examining individual legal institutions in the context of their particular cultural settings, we can begin to make cross-cultural comparisons and contrasts. In so doing, we confront the challenge of interpreting and understanding the legal rules and institutions of other cultures while assessing the impact of our own social norms and biases on the analysis. Thus, our analytic and interpretative approach will require us to examine the cultural assumptions that underpin various aspects of our own belief systems and the American legal system. Requirements for this seminar course include preparation of a research paper (6000-7500 words) and thoughtful class participation. Writing for this seminar may be used as partial fulfillment of the JD writing requirement (SRP or WP).

• Winter 2024: Christopher Fennell
• Winter 2023: Christopher Fennell

Behavioral Law and Economics

This seminar will explore a set of frontier issues at the intersection of law and human behavior, including people's conduct under risk and uncertainty; the commitment to fairness; social influences and peer pressure; extremism; adaptation; happiness; discrimination; and judicial behavior. Some discussion will be devoted to the uses and limits of paternalism. Grades will be based on class participation and a series of research papers totaling 6000-7500 words.

Previously:

• Winter 2023: Jonathan Masur
• Autumn 2022: Jonathan Masur
• Spring 2022: Jonathan Masur
• Spring 2021: Jonathan Masur
• Spring 2020: Jonathan Masur
• Autumn 2019: Jonathan Masur
• Spring 2019: Jonathan Masur
• Autumn 2018: Jonathan Masur
• Spring 2018: Jonathan Masur

Big Problems

The Big Problems course will use multidisciplinary approaches to try to understand and tackle the most important problems facing our country or the world. The first 8 weeks will be taught by the instructors and outside experts, focusing on problems such as the Zika virus, Syrian migration to Europe, cybersecurity, nuclear waste storage, opioid addiction, sex trafficking, and policing and race relations. Students will work in teams of students to develop feasible policy or private sector solutions to a problem of their choosing and make a presentation in the last 2 weeks. Presentations will be made to instructors, outside experts and fellow students. Final grade will be based on the presentations and a companion paper (6000-7500 words).

Participation may be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Autumn 2022: David Weisbach and Anup Malani
• Spring 2022: David Weisbach and Anup Malani
• Spring 2021: David Weisbach and Anup Malani
• Spring 2020: David Weisbach and Anup Malani
• Spring 2019: David Weisbach, Anup Malani, Robert Topel, and Kevin Murphy
• Spring 2018: David Weisbach, Anup Malani, Robert Topel, and Kevin Murphy

Business Planning

This seminar develops and applies the student's knowledge of taxation and corporate and securities law in the solution of a series of transactional problems involving typical steps in business formation and rearrangement. The problems include the formation of a closely held company; the transition to public ownership of the corporation; executive compensation arrangements; the purchase and sale of a business; and mergers, tender offers, and other types of combination transactions. Small-group discussions and lectures are employed. The student's grade is based on a final examination; students may earn an additional credit by writing a paper on a topic approved by the instructors. The student must have taken (or be taking concurrently) Business Organizations and Corporate Tax I or receive instructor approval.

Previously:

• Winter 2023: Keith Crow and Anthony V. Sexton
• Winter 2022: Keith Crow and Anthony V. Sexton
• Winter 2020: Keith Crow and Anthony V. Sexton
• Winter 2018: Keith Crow and Anthony V. Sexton

Colloquium on Law and Social Science

This unique workshop brings together social science and law faculty and students to examine new empirical scholarship with implications for law scholarship and legal reform. Rather than being a testing ground for works-in-progress, this workshop is an incubator for legal-reform-oriented scholarship based on social science research. We will encounter a mix of law scholarship and sociology scholarship on several topics, such as poverty and housing, higher education, and criminal system replacement. Students will write reaction papers and research proposals, which will count toward the grade, in addition to class participation.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Sharon Fairley, William H J Hubbard, Robert Vargas

Comparative Race, Ethnicity and Constitutional Design

Issues of multiracial democracy have come to the fore in recent years in the United States and many other countries. This seminar starts with the premise that our particular way of doing things is not the only one. It will review the comparative literature on racial and ethnic formation, stratification and conflict. It will focus on the role of constitutional design in exacerbating or ameliorating conflict. Readings will examine the politics of race and ethnicity in most other major regions of the world, along with theoretical accounts on what constitutional design can and cannot do. Students will pick a country to focus on as we work through the material.

This class requires a major paper (6000-7500 words). Participation may be considered in the final grading.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Tom Ginsburg
• Spring 2023: Tom Ginsburg

Competitive Strategy

We will apply tools from microeconomics and game theory to the analysis of strategic decision making by firms. Specific topics covered include the sources of industry and firm profitability, strategic positioning, sustainable competitive advantage, the boundaries of the firm, incomplete contracts, horizontal and vertical integration, strategic commitment, strategic cooperation, dynamic pricing, entry and exit, network effects, and platform markets. My goal in the class is to get students to think like an economist about firm strategy.

The course is designed for students who are already comfortable with microeconomics at the level of Booth's 33001 course, or most colleges' intermediate micro classes. The class will not require calculus but prior exposure to microeconomics concepts is important. Classes will combine case analysis and discussions with lectures.

This class has a final exam and a required series of reaction papers. Participation may be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Winter 2023: Eric Budish
• Winter 2022: Eric Budish
• Autumn 2020: Eric Budish
• Autumn 2019: Eric Budish

Crisis Communication: The Lawyer's Role in Advancing Client Interests

During high-profile controversies, organizations must contend with multiple stakeholders, both inside and outside the legal system. Developments during a crisis are analyzed and influenced by employees, the media, elected officials, regulators, investors, advocacy groups and others. The collective opinion of these stakeholders - not simply the specific resolution of the legal issues - often determines the ultimate success of an organization's strategy. Individuals and organizations are often judged by these stakeholders on how well (or poorly) they responded to a crisis. Today's attorneys are often expected to go beyond their strictly "legal" responsibilities and assist the organization in protecting its reputation during these events. As Ken Frazier (CEO of Merck and its former general counsel) said: "Sophisticated clients don't want 'pure' legal advice, they want workable solutions to their problems…at the intersection of law, business, technology, politics and moral judgment. Smart clients expect their lawyers to help them find solutions." This course will explore how attorneys can provide broad crisis management advice to clients, rather than narrow legal counsel. The class will analyze the perspectives and motivations of different actors in a crisis and explain the intersection among legal issues, organizational goals and strategic communications. The course will use case studies, background readings, presentations, special guest speakers , and focused discussions to highlight the issues in effective crisis management. Students will also participate in hypotheticals and role plays where they may be asked to act as a lawyer, a crisis management advisor or the CEO as the organization determines its crisis response. The professors will also share experiences and lessons learned from their own work on high-profile matters for companies, universities, associations, and non-profit organizations. In addition to the short papers (totaling 6000-7500 words) and in-class participation, there will a small group presentation.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Tilden Katz and Roy Wentz
• Spring 2023: Tilden Katz and Roy Wentz

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

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

Greek Tragedy and Philosophy

Ancient Greek tragedy has been of continuous interest to Western philosophers, whether they love it or hate it. But they do not agree about what it is and does, or about what insights it offers. This seminar will study the tragic festivals and a select number of tragedies, also consulting some modern studies of ancient Greek tragedy. Then we shall turn to philosophical accounts of the tragic genre, including those of Plato, Aristotle, the Greek and Roman Stoics (especially Seneca), Lessing, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Iris Murdoch, Sartre, and Bernard Williams. This class is offered on the Law School's academic calendar. The first class will be Tuesday, September 26. Admission by permission of the instructor. Permission must be sought in writing by August 21 to martha_nussbaum@law.uchicago.edu.

Prerequisite: An undergraduate major in philosophy or some equivalent solid philosophy preparation, plus my permission. This is a 500 level course. PhD students in Philosophy, Social Thought, Classics, and Political Theory may enroll. MA students need permission, and the MAPH and MAPSS programs discourage 500 level courses in a student's first quarter. Law students with ample philosophical background are welcome to enroll but should ask Professor Nussbaum first. Undergraduates may not enroll.

Method of evaluation: A seminar paper of 20-25 pages and an oral presentation preceded by a short paper of 5-7 pages.

Previously:

• Autumn 2023: Martha C Nussbaum

Greenberg Seminars: Artificial Intelligence

This seminar will explore the ethical and legal issues posed by the promise of artificial intelligence and autonomous machines. The materials will include fiction and non-fiction works that examine ethical and legal questions such as the consciousness, personhood, and culpability of autonomous machines as well as questions about how artificial intelligence may disrupt existing institutions in society. The seminar will meet at the professors' residence in Naperville in the afternoons of the following days November 6, January 8, January 29, February 19, April 16.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Anthony Casey and Erin Casey
• Spring 2023: Anthony Casey and Erin Casey
• Winter 2023: Anthony Casey and Erin Casey
• Autumn 2023: Martha C Nussbaum
• Autumn 2022: Anthony Casey and Erin Casey

Greenberg Seminars: Corporate Scandals

The past few years have brought a wide variety of corporate scandals. Companies and their CEOs have misled investors about the efficacy of a key blood testing technology (Theranos), bribed state legislators to bail out nuclear reactors and coal-fired power plants (First Energy), absconded or collapsed with millions of dollars of crypto assets (QuadrigaCX), made allegedly false corporate disclosures on twitter (Elon Musk), and done whatever it was that WeWork did. Some of these scandals, such as Theranos, involved clearly illegal behavior, and have resulted in criminal convictions. Others, such as WeWork, did not. Still others are just embarrassing. This Greenberg will explore the different dimensions of corporate scandals. Each week, we will discuss one high-profile scandal. We will use these examples to study fiduciary duties, disclosure laws, corporate conduct in the zone of insolvency, and other legal issues related to corporate misconduct. Reading and / or AV materials will be assigned before each class. The seminars will be held throughout the year.

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

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Adriana Robertson and Joshua C. Macey
• Winter 2023: Adriana Robertson and Joshua C. Macey
• Autumn 2022: Adriana Robertson and Joshua C. Macey

Greenberg Seminars: The Ethic of Aesthetics - Examining the Interactions Between Law and Visual Arts

The seminar explores ethical and legal problems that lie in the intersection of law and visual arts. The co-instructor, Laura Letinsky, is an artist and a Professor at the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Chicago. Topics include valuation of visual art, gender barriers in the art world, museological and related institutional practices and policies regarding ownership and sale of art, the manipulative uses of visual depiction in advertising, laws that prohibit visual recordings of animal agriculture, and more. Some background readings and films will be assigned prior to each meeting.

The seminar will meet five times during the Autumn and Winter terms, with the meeting alternating across the professors' homes. Each meeting will start at 7:30pm with a home cooked meal. Please block the following six dates: October 19, November 16 and 30, January 11 and 25, February 8. This Greenberg meets only in the autumn and winter quarters.

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.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Omri Ben-Shahar and Laura Letinsky
• Winter 2023: Omri Ben-Shahar and Laura Letinsky
• Autumn 2022: Omri Ben-Shahar and Laura Letinsky

Greenberg Seminars: The Evil Corporation

This seminar looks at the depiction of corporations as evildoers in fiction. The course materials will include various films, books, and television shows where corporations play major antagonist roles. The seminar will ask whether the depiction is grounded in reality and how it reflects popular views of the role that businesses play in society. We will also explore legal themes related to corporate social responsibility, legal personhood, and corporate criminality while asking how these legal issues interact with the fictional depictions we study. The seminar will meet at 6:30 pm on January 11, January 25, February 8, and February 22. The time and date of the final meeting will be determined later. Graded Pass/Fail and is worth 1 credit which defaults to the winter quarter.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Anthony Casey, Joshua Macey, and Emily Underwood
• Winter 2023: Anthony Casey, Joshua Macey, and Emily Underwood

Greenberg Seminars: Order Without Law

This Greenberg will explore the informal social ordering that takes shape in the shadow of the law and in law's interstitial spaces. We will begin with Robert Ellickson's influential book about how cattle ranchers in Shasta County, California settle disputes outside the governing property rules and in ways that deviate from them. Other topics may include: the informal IP of Roller Derby pseudonyms, extralegal agreements among diamond sellers, dispute resolution among tuna merchants, systems of social sanctions within prisons, and the use of textiles as informal property and currency among enslaved people, women, and others who lacked formal property rights. Graded Pass/Fail and is worth 1 credit which defaults to the autumn quarter.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: John Rappaport and Bridget Fahey
• Winter 2023: John Rappaport and Bridget Fahey
• Autumn 2022: John Rappaport and Bridget Fahey

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

Greenberg Seminars: Rational Do-Gooding

Effective Altruism is an important movement. In this seminar we will read books that favor saving human lives in the short and long run, but we will also question these goals and ask how and why we can do the most good after our law school experiences. Should we work hard and then donate money to good causes, or should we participate in a personal way? Should we care about the environment when it is at the sacrifice of caring about Malaria in parts of the world where people are suffering every day?

You must be free on Thursday evenings after 7pm (for 5 or 6 meetings) in the Autumn and Winter. We will be joined by Visiting Faculty, and we will have dessert or dinner at the Professors' home. Graded Pass/Fail and is worth 1 credit which defaults to the autumn quarter.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Julie Roin and Saul Levmore
• Winter 2023: Julie Roin and Saul Levmore
• Autumn 2022: Julie Roin and Saul Levmore

Greenberg Seminars: Zealous Advocates in Movies

Zealous Advocates in Movies. We will review some of the lesser-known but classic movies in the history of films about lawyering, to discuss the decisions, judgment calls, and lawyering skills on display (or horribly lacking). When is a lawyer the hero and why? Examples include Inherit the Wind, Anatomy of a Murder, Legal Eagles, Philadelphia, A Few Good Men, and Saint Judy.

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

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Herschella Conyers, and Elizabeth W Kregor
• Winter 2023: Herschella Conyers, and Elizabeth W Kregor
• Autumn 2022: Herschella Conyers, and Elizabeth W Kregor

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

Introduction to Law and Economics

This class is an introduction to the economic analysis of law, an approach that has grown rapidly in the last thirty years and now exerts a profound influence on how law is taught and on how courts make decisions. The class will provide you with a set of tools for analyzing transactions and how they are shaped by legal rules, through systematic exposure to the economic way of thinking about law across a variety of legal contexts. These tools are intended to complement, not to challenge, the traditional doctrinal approach to law. The objective is to equip you to use economic reasoning in an informed and critical spirit to analyze cases and transactions of the sort you may encounter in practice. More generally, you should be able to understand and critically evaluate the use of economic analysis in legal scholarship, judicial opinions, and other legal contexts.

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

The textbook is available at no cost at: https://lawcat.berkeley.edu/record/1127400?ln=en

You may also purchase a hardcopy version.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Dhammika Dharmapala
• Winter 2022: Dhammika Dharmapala
• Winter 2021: Dhammika Dharmapala
• Winter 2020: Dhammika Dharmapala
• Winter 2019: Dhammika Dharmapala
• Winter 2018: Dhammika Dharmapala
• Autumn 2017: Anup Malani

Investment Funds

This class examines the regulatory, economic, and political issues surrounding the use of pooled investment vehicles, particularly public funds (such as mutual funds, money market funds, and exchange-traded funds) and private funds (such as hedge funds, private equity funds, and venture capital funds). We will discuss the legal and business considerations that go into the formation of funds, paying close attention to the negotiations between investment advisers and the investors in their funds. We will also examine the portfolio investment strategies of different investment funds, such as the use of leveraged buyouts, equity investments, and more sophisticated trading in derivatives. We will develop a familiarity with the Investment Advisers Act and the Investment Company Act, which are the key legal regulations governing these funds, as well as with the most current scholarly debates in this field. This class will begin on April 3 and run through the end of the quarter. This class requires a major paper (6000-7500 words).

Previously:

• Spring 2024: William Birdthistle

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

Law and Literature

This seminar explores the interdisciplinary field of law and literature. Literature is important for understanding law because it teaches a certain way of thinking -- one that emphasizes close reading of text, competing interpretations, and empathetic judgment. Law is important to understanding novels, plays, and short stories where they make assumptions about law or develop themes about the relationship of law, society, and justice. This seminar will explore these and related topics through novels, plays, and short stories. We will read Herman Melville's "Billy Budd," Arthur Miller's "The Crucible," Susan Glaspell's "A Jury of Her Peers," John Patrick Shanley's "Doubt," Nella Larson's "Passing," Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun," Ian McEwan's "The Children Act," Kazuo Ishiguro's "Remains of the Day," Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," Ursula Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," and N.K. Jemisin's "The Ones Who Stay and Fight." There will also be secondary readings. We will address questions such as: What can literature and literary imagination bring to performance of legal tasks, including "telling stories" about facts and cases, or understanding the nuances of moral responsibility? What different or similar interpretative rules do lawyers and literary critics employ in construing a text? Can legal analysis bring new insight into the meaning of classic literature or offer compelling new critiques? Students will be graded on attendance, participation, and two research papers totaling 6000-7500 words.

Previously:

• Autumn 2022: Richard Mcadams
• Autumn 2023: Richard Mcadams

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

Legal Spanish: Public Interest Law in the US

This course brings students to high-intermediate levels in reading, speaking, and listening for the practice of public interest law in the US. Learners will build proficiency around relevant topic areas so that they can read, listen, explain, present and solicit information related to rights, client history / interviews, procedural language, legal actions, etc. The focus is on building proficiency through communication and strategy instruction. The final exam is a proficiency test offered through the University of Chicago Office of Language Assessment that yields a certificate and a proficiency rating on students' transcripts. The course will follow the College's academic calendar with flexibility for law students' schedules so that they finish the courses on the same schedule as other law school courses. Pre-requisite: one year of university-level Spanish or equivalent.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Darcy Lear
• Spring 2023: Darcy Lear
• Spring 2022: Darcy Lear
• Spring 2021: Darcy Lear

Managerial Psychology

This course is about managing people - oneself and others. Successfully managing people requires an understanding of their thoughts, feelings, attitudes, motivations, and determinants of behavior. Developing an accurate understanding of these factors, however, can be difficult to achieve because intuitions are often misguided, and unstructured experience can be a poor teacher. This course is intended to address this development by providing the scientific knowledge of human thought and behavior that is critical for successfully managing others, and also for successfully managing ourselves.

Using a combination of lectures, discussions, and group activities, the course offers an introduction to theory and research in the behavioral sciences. Its primary goal is to develop conceptual frameworks that help students to understand and manage effectively their own complicated work settings.

The course is organized into two main themes: (1) the individual, and (2) the organization. The individual part of the course is concerned with issues related to individual behavior, such as how people's attitudes influence their behavior, how people form impressions of others, and how the choices people make are affected by characteristics of the decision maker and the decision-making process. The organization part of the course focuses on people's behavior within the context of an organization. It addresses how organizations can successfully coordinate the actions of their members. Topics of this section include effective group decision-making, persuading and motivating others, and the use of formal and informal power in interpersonal relations.

This class will have a final exam and required reaction papers. Participation may be considered in final grading.

There will be an additional fee of $37.47 for use of Harvard Business Publishing (6 items). This is a required purchase for the course.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Ayelet Fishbach
• Spring 2023: Ayelet Fishbach

Microeconomics

This course will provide an introduction to microeconomics that will serve as a foundation for applying economics to law and current policy topics. We will cover supply, demand and market equilibrium; the incidence of taxes and subsidies; price and non-price allocation; efficiency and distribution; market structure and power; among other topics. The course will illustrate each of these concepts with application to the legal system, legal rules and legally salient policy, e.g., the market for lawyers, contract law, and crime policy. This course is different than a law and economics course in two ways. First, it spends more time teaching economics. Second, the goal is to enable you to apply economics beyond law to policies that lawyers may care about, e.g., supply of reproductive services, the distributive effects of loan forgiveness, and the effect of antidiscrimination law. This course will require students to be able to do some basic algebra and some elementary calculations.

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

Previously:

• Winter 2024: Anup Malani
• Winter 2023: Anup Malani

Modern Indian Political and Legal Thought

India has made important contributions to political and legal thought, most of which are too little-known in the West. These contributions draw on ancient traditions, Hindu and Buddhist, but transform them, often radically, to fit the needs of an anti-imperial nation aspiring to inclusiveness and equality. We will study the thought of Rabindranath Tagore (Nationalism, The Religion of Man, selected literary works); Mohandas Gandhi (Hind Swaraj (Indian Self-Rule), Autobiography, and selected speeches); B. R. Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Indian Constitution (The Annihilation of Caste, The Buddha and his Dhamma, and selected speeches and interventions in the Constituent Assembly); and, most recently, Amartya Sen, whose The Idea of Justice is rooted, as he describes, both in ancient Indian traditions and in the thought of Tagore. We will periodically contrast the thought of the founding generation with the ideas of the Hindu Right, dominant today. This is a seminar open to all law students, and to others by permission. This class requires a major paper of 20-25 pages.

Previously:

• Winter 2024: Martha Nussbaum
• Winter 2022: Martha C. Nussbaum

Opera as Idea and Performance

Is opera an archaic and exotic pageant for fanciers of overweight canaries, or a relevant art form of great subtlety and complexity that has the power to be revelatory? In this course of eight sessions, jointly taught by Professor Martha Nussbaum and Anthony Freud, General Director of Lyric Opera of Chicago, we explore the multi-disciplinary nature of this elusive and much-maligned art form, with its four hundred-year-old European roots, discussing both historic and philosophical contexts and the practicalities of interpretation and production in a very un-European, twenty-first century city. Anchoring each session around a different opera, we will be joined by a variety of guest experts, one each week, including a director, a conductor, a designer and two singers, to enable us to explore different perspectives.

The list of operas to be discussed include Monteverdi's The Coronation of Poppaea, Mozart's Don Giovanni, Rossini's Barber of Seville, Verdi's Don Carlos, Puccini's Madama Butterfly, Wagner's Die Meistersinger, Britten's Billy Budd, and Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking. Students do not need to be able to read music, but some antecedent familiarity with opera in performance or through recordings would be extremely helpful. REQUIREMENTS: PhD students and law students will write one long paper at the end (20-25 pages), based on a prospectus submitted earlier. Other students will write one shorter paper (5-7 pages) and one longer paper (12-15 pages), the former due in week 4 and the latter during reading period. PhD students in the Philosophy Department and the Music Department and all law students (both J. D. and LL.M.) may enroll without permission. All other students will be selected by lottery up to the number feasible given TA arrangements.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Anthony Freud and Martha C Nussbaum

Project Finance in Emerging Markets

This course will explore the principles of project finance and their application to projects in emerging markets, with a particular focus on emerging markets. The class will include various case studies and will include the review of key credit agreement principles and a discussion of common legal issues that arise in the cross-border context.

The method of evaluation is based on a series of short reaction papers (≥ 3000-3500 words). Participation may be considered in the final grading.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Jaime E. Ramirez
• Spring 2023: Jaime E. Ramirez
• Autumn 2023: Martin Jacobson
• Spring 2022: Jaime E. Ramirez
• Spring 2021: Jaime E. Ramirez

Racism, Law, and Social Sciences

The domains of racism, law, and the social sciences impact one another in myriad ways. At times, a system of racism is deployed through law, which in turn shapes questions asked in the social sciences. In other instances, the sciences articulate conceptual frameworks that lead to the creation of new forms of racism within society and law. Particular systems of racism have operated across a spectrum from incidents of overt violence to the daily impacts of implicit biases. Our readings and class discussions will consider a sample of case studies from across the globe in addition to past and present dynamics in the United States. Analyses of the social construction of racial and ethnic identities have facilitated studies of the ways in which social differences are created, maintained, and masked. Subjects to be addressed in this course include the interrelation of racial ideologies with other cultural and social dimensions, such as class, ethnicity, gender, political and legal structures, and economic influences. At an international scale, policy makers confront the challenge of balancing calls for multicultural tolerance with demands for fundamental human rights. We will also consider the related histories of biological, genetic, and epigenetic concepts of different races within the human species. This seminar includes a major writing project in the form of a seminar paper (6000-7500 words).

Participation may be included in the final grading.

Previously:

• Winter 2024: Christopher Fennell
• Winter 2023: Christopher Fennell
• Winter 2022: Christopher Fennell
• Winter 2021: Christopher Fennell
• Spring 2020: Christopher Fennell
• Spring 2019: Christopher Fennell
• Spring 2018: Christopher Fennell

Religious Liberty

This seminar will address the jurisprudence of, and contemporary litigation surrounding, religious liberty in the United States.

This class has a final exam that all students must take. Participation may be considered in final grading. Students who wish to earn a third credit must write an additional paper (approximately 2500 words). The additional paper may meet the WP requirement.

Previously:

• Autumn 2022: Ryan Walsh
• Autumn 2023: Ryan Walsh

Tort Law and Moral Psychology

This seminar studies how people's moral intuitions and moral commitments affect tort law. Tort law sometimes (but not always) reflects widespread views about what is morally right and wrong, so tort offers a valuable opportunity to study how people's moral psychology interacts with a major area of law. The seminar begins with an introduction to major topics in the field of moral psychology, such as how people make moral judgments, how children learn moral concepts, and why people often disagree about moral questions. The seminar then turns to the "moral psychology of tort law." Here, the seminar draws on existing experiments and theories to examine topics such as how people evaluate the morality of negligence and of strict liability, how people define the "reasonable person" standard, and how jurors in tort cases are sometimes influenced by their intuitions about what is morally right and wrong. Students are asked to participate in class discussion and to submit short essays. All are welcome, and no prior knowledge of moral psychology is required. This class requires a series of research papers (totaling 6000-7500 words). Participation may be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Philip Petrov

Workshop: Law and Economics

This workshop, conducted over three sequential quarters, is devoted to the intensive examination of selected problems in the application of economic reasoning to a wide variety of legal questions. Workshop sessions will be devoted to the presentation and discussion of papers by faculty. In addition to workshop sessions, which occur approximately every other week, there will be discussion sessions, which will serve as opportunities for students to engage in in-depth, informal discussion of topics in law and economics with the instructor. Students may either write reaction papers across all three quarters, or write a single major paper (6000-7500 words; students interested in academic writing in law and economics may use the latter option to develop their ideas). Students enrolled in the workshop receive three credits with either method of evaluation; one in Autumn, one in Winter, and one in Spring. Participation may be considered in final grading. Please note that the Workshop is open to anyone to attend on a non-registered basis. Only law students can take it for a grade (i.e., everyone else takes it P/F)

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Adriana Robertson
• Winter 2024: Adriana Robertson
• Spring 2023: Adriana Robertson
• Winter 2023: Adriana Robertson
• Autumn 2023: Adriana Robertson
• Autumn 2022: Adriana Robertson
• Spring 2022: Dhammika Dharmapala
• Winter 2022: Dhammika Dharmapala
• Autumn 2022: Dhammika Dharmapala
• Spring 2021: Lee Fennell and Dhammika Dharmapala
• Winter 2021: Lee Fennell and Dhammika Dharmapala
• Autumn 2020: Lee Fennell and Dhammika Dharmapala
• Spring 2020: William H. J. Hubbard and Lee Fennel
• Winter 2020: William H. J. Hubbard and Lee Fennel
• Autumn 2019: William H. J. Hubbard and Lee Fennel
• Spring 2019: Todd Henderson and William H. J. Hubbard
• Winter 2019: Todd Henderson and William H. J. Hubbard
• Autumn 2018: Todd Henderson and William H. J. Hubbard
• Spring 2018: Omri Ben-Shahar and William H. J. Hubbard
• Winter 2018: Omri Ben-Shahar and William H. J. Hubbard
• Autumn 2017: Omri Ben-Shahar

Workshop: Law and Philosophy: Advanced Topics in General Jurisprudence

The Workshop will explore in more depth issues touched upon in the basic course on "general jurisprudence" at the Law School. General jurisprudence is that part of philosophy of law concerned with the central questions about the nature of law, the relationship between law and morality, and the nature of legal reasoning. Students who have taken Leiter's "Jurisprudence I" course at the law school are welcome to enroll. Students who have not taken Jurisprudence I must contact the Professor Leiter with information about their prior study of legal philosophy. Detailed familiarity with Hart's The Concept of Law and Dworkin's criticisms of Hart is essential. External speakers for 2023-24 include Thomas Adams (Oxford), Louis Duarte D'Almeida (Lisbon), Mark Greenberg (UCLA), Giorgio Pino (Rome III), and Daniel Wodak (Penn), among others. This workshop requires a major paper (6000-7500 words). Participation may be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Brian Leiter, Alma Diamond
• Winter 2024: Brian Leiter, Alma Diamond
• Autumn 2023: Brian Leiter, Alma Diamond

Workshop: Law and Philosophy: Political Realism

The Workshop will introduce and asses "political realism," both its history (in figures like Thucydides and Machiavelli) and its contemporary manifestation (in writers like Bernard Williams and Raymond Geuss), often framed in reaction to the approach to political philosophy associated with John Rawls. Alison McQueen (who will be speaking at the Workshop) characterizes political realism in terms of four central ideas : (1) politics is a distinct realm, with its own norms; it is not simply applied moral philosophy; (2) "politics is agnostic or conflictual," a fact that arises from various possible causes: "human nature and the limits of rationality, competing identities and interests, and value pluralism"; (3) "the requirements of order and stability" take priority "over the demands of justice," precisely because the former cannot be taken for granted and are difficult to maintain; and (4) realists reject approaches to politics that "fail to take seriously the psychological, sociological, and institutional constraints on political action." Workshop sessions will explore and complicate this picture of political realism, as well as try to assess the merits of this as a position in theorizing about politics; connections with legal realism in jurisprudence will also be discussed. Speakers will include Alison McQueen, William Galston, Matt Sleat, Enzo Rossi, Alex Worsnip, and the instructors, among others. This class requires a major paper (6000-7500 words). Participation may be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Brian Leiter, Carlo Burelli
• Winter 2023: Brian Leiter, Carlo Burelli
• Autumn 2022: Brian Leiter, Carlo Burelli

Workshop: Legal Scholarship

This workshop is designed for students (including JSDs and LLMs) who are considering an academic career as well as those who want to improve their public speaking and written expression skills. It may be taken for a full year as a course (every other week in W and S) or only in the fall quarter as a seminar. In the fall young scholars from around the world present works in progress and students write reaction papers and question them as the faculty does in other workshops. As we discuss what does and does not work in these papers and presentations, students will get a clear sense of the types of topics that lead to good papers by young scholars, how good scholarship is structured, and how to give an engaging and clear presentation. In the Winter and Spring students write an original piece of legal scholarship or revise a previously written paper for publication. The goal of the workshop is to create a learning community that will provide students with the type of scholarly atmosphere the faculty here enjoys. Students enrolled for the year will be expected to conduct themselves as they would if they were junior faculty members at a top law school, reading and commenting on the work of their peers. Optional lunches to discuss writing will be held throughout the year in the same format as the Faculty Round Table.

The FALL ONLY version is graded on the basis of short reactions papers and class participation, the full year version grade depends on the written paper (6000-7500 words) and its presentation as well. The full year version may fulfill the WP or the SRP.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Lisa Bernstein
• Winter 2024: Lisa Bernstein
• Autumn 2022: Lisa Bernstein
• Winter 2023: Lisa Bernstein
• Spring 2023: Lisa Bernstein
• Autumn 2023: Lisa Bernstein

Workshop: Regulation of Family, Sex, and Gender

This workshop exposes students to recent academic work in the regulation of family, sex, gender, and sexuality and in feminist theory. Workshop sessions are devoted to the presentation and discussion of papers from outside speakers and University faculty. The substance and methodological orientation of the papers will both be diverse. Students have the option of writing a major research paper for SRP or WP credit (6000-7500 words) or short reaction papers commenting on the works-in-progress presented.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Mary Anne Case
• Winter 2024: Mary Anne Case
• Winter 2023: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2023: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2022: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2021: Mary Anne Case
• Winter 2021: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2020: Mary Anne Case
• Winter 2020: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2019: Mary Anne Case
• Autumn 2018: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2018: Mary Anne Case
• Winter 2018: Mary Anne Case