POLI 245 - Law and Gender in the United States

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

This course focuses on the intersection of law and gender in the private and public spheres of home, family, employment and citizenship, respectively. Topics we consider include sex-role stereotyping, women in the workplace, marriage, reproductive freedom, and women’s political and civic participation. We examine and analyze how the law has regulated various aspects of women’s lives over time and within each context; identify gender-based issues that are ripe for legal reform; apply feminist perspectives on social justice and equality to analyze the legal system; and evaluate the effectiveness of using law as a tool for achieving gender equality. In addition to a focus on state and federal court cases, we explore the struggle among women, and to a certain extent the LGBT community, to challenge dominant sex and gender roles from the margins of society. Ms. Zuber.

Two 75-minute periods.