Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, and the Law

Catalog description

This seminar will focus on how the law regulates the lives and bodies of trans and queer people. We will approach the material primarily through the lens of constitutional law, exploring how courts have used--or might use--federal or state constitutional provisions to address a wide array of issues involving gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. The core of the class will relate to contemporary controversies concerning gender identity and sexual orientation (including, for example, how gender is defined, recognition of nonbinary identities, access to gender-affirming healthcare, relationship rights of same-sex couples, and religious liberty debates, among others), and will critically examine how legal regulation of gender and sexuality intersects with other identity-based categories including race, class, and disability. We will maintain an interdisciplinary focus throughout as we consider how social, cultural, and political forces shape, and are shaped by, legal doctrine. Special Instructions: Students have the option to write a long research paper in lieu of the final exam with consent of instructor. After the term begins, students enrolled in the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor. Elements used in grading: Attendance, Class Participation, Written Assignments; Exam or research paper.