This seminar will examine how different legal systems regulate family relationships by comparatively analyzing selected major family law topics in American, European and Islamic family law. Along with a general review of American family law, the comparison will include a few major EU jurisdictions and Islamic family law as it exists in classical Islamic law (both Sunni and Shiite) and as it is practiced today in some major Muslim countries. Some current case examples of the interaction of Islamic family law with American and European courts will be studied as well. We will comparatively examine the historical transformation that took place around some major family laws, rules and institutions in each legal system, and also the current challenges posed by modernization and legal reform. Some of the main topics that will be covered are the law of marriage and its alternatives, marital rights and duties, divorce, child custody, child support, property division and alimony, with a particular focus on the role of law in bargaining and economic distribution during marriage and at divorce. Casebook and photocopied course materials. No background in family law, Islamic law or comparative law is required. Grading will be based on short response papers throughout the semester and a final paper.
LIMITED WRITING REQUIREMENT OPTION: A limited number of students may be permitted to satisfy the upper-class writing requirement with the approval of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
