LAW486
Jurisprudence: Queering Law
(Meade-Clift)
Prerequisite courses:
Prerequisite for:
Instructor(s): Brenna Meade-Clift
Course credit: 3
Method of presentation: Seminar
METHOD OF EVALUATION
Class Participation (15%)
Short Paper (15%)
Online Discussion (10%)
Key Terms Assignment (10%)
Final Research Paper / Project (50%)
COURSE DESCRIPTION
“Queer” is a term that can be employed for a number of different purposes – as an umbrella term for members for the LGBTQ+ community, as a rejection of identity categories altogether, as a theory and tool of critical analysis, and to describe something curious and out of the ordinary.
Through the concepts of identity politics and queer theory, we will consider issues of gender, sex, and sexuality as they intersect with the legal system. This course emphasizes Civil Discourse and the importance of engagement with a diversity of perspectives. It is aimed at, and welcomes students, of all identities who are interested in engaging with transformative and critical approaches to our legal system and issues of identity.
Broadly, we will engage with issues such as: the benefits, and dangers, of organizing around identity categories; the tension between working within the legal system and working to dismantle its harmful and ineffective parts; the ways in which the legal system constructs and reinforces inequalities and normative identity categories; the regulation of gender, sex, and sexuality; the impact of political context on the advancement of LGBTQ rights; and strategies for developing a “queer” approach to day-to-day legal practice.
SPECIAL COMMENTS
Description updated 2022-23. Please contact the instructor for any specific questions you may have related to this particular course section.
REQUIRED TEXTS (IF ANY)
Readings will generally be found as follows: 1) publicly available online, 2) through databases accessible through the UofA library, 3) available through TWEN, or 4) on reserve at the law library.