Course Schedule

This seminar will explore emergent legal, policy-based, social, political, and moral responses to present-day climate destabilization, known as a "threat multiplier" within and across institutions and fields. Rather than lean into the problematics of climate predictions and our obligations to affected future generations, we'll concentrate on understanding the challenges that climate change is beginning to wreak on a presently-affected generation: yours.

Our collective gaze is likely to focus on such arenas of concern as the state of climate science; health science, policy, and law and the human body's heat thresholds; climate mitigation under the lenses of climate diplomacy, climate politics, and the energy transition; legal and equitable theories of recovery for present damage, injury, and harm; green community planning and climate pledges and insurance-driven red-lining threats; and the hopes, promises, and pitches of climate tech and geoengineered solutions.

Learning will be enhanced by multi-disciplinary readings and other materials, by vigorous in-class discussion, and by expert guest-participants.

I welcome students from a diversity of fields and programs into the class! 

Class members will write one very brief paper, due early in the term, and a research-based paper,  format-appropriate to the student's field, at the end. The latter may be a collaborative work by two or more students and it may embody a creative design, a social

purpose, or a publication aim.

Reasonable attendance will be required and no AI-assistance will be allowed.

     This seminar aims to explore a clutch of topics that represent just a few of the severe and accelerating disruptions to conventional societal arrangements and institutions being instigated or worsened by climate change. Those I have chosen for this Spring’s course engage in immediate terms with fields that include-- and often multiply intersect with-- law; environmental engineering; community and regional planning; public health; public policy and private governance; and the economics of global trade. Problem analysis together with solutions-pathways will be our primary modes of address. Our main gear of operations will involve a focus on challenges that are coming to afflict not only future generations but yours.

     Specific issues for dissection may include the energy transition and next-gen fuels; risk management in the public and private sectors (droughts, floods, extreme heat, private residential insurance); environmental justice for front-line communities; the dam crisis and the re-design of fisheries and waterways; the burdensome economics of “fast” industries such as fashion and furniture; the biodiversity crisis (and why it matters); the global food crisis and its relationship to industrial agriculture and trade; and the professional ethics of lawyers.  Students who enroll in the seminar before the term begins will be invited to vote on the inclusion of one or more of these.

     Learning will be enhanced by the inter-disciplinary mix of our class’s membership, by diverse readings and other materials, by vigorous discussion, and by expert guest- participants.

     Students will write brief analytic papers and one creative one and a brief paper at the end of the term. Students may write collaboratively as pairs, groups, or teams at least once, so long as each person’s contributions are separately identified.

This seminar is designed to explore a selection of the accelerating issues and problems that the systemic challenges of climate change are bringing about in what many are calling the Age of the Anthropocene. Our efforts will be both normative and practical, as we  consider critiques of legal and other forms of address based on convention, tradition, and stationarity and as we explore emerging efforts in the public and private sectors to inspire and to generate new responses across institutions and fields.

     Topic coverage will include some of the most monumental of these challenges, within such spheres as the energy transition, food production, human migration, biodiversity, and the public health, but will also sample subjects responsive to management on a more local or regional scale, such as environmental justice, transport, wildfire management, and, possibly, sports. We’ll also consider a project in the very early stages of formation that’s being designed to develop newly participatory, democratic networks of governance.   

    The seminar’s methods will emphasize discussion, including team-led discussion; contributions to group learning based on the mix of disciplinary studies of our student members; and guest presentations by people with special expertise. For the writing component of the seminar: Students may write in one of two different formats. Each student will choose which to use:

                 Choice A: Each student will write a total of four brief discussion/reaction papers during the semester in response to each of four units of readings, plus a brief paper based on light research due at the end of the term on a topic of the student’s choice, subject to instructor approval, linked to climate change; or,

                Choice B: A  student may write a conventional research paper due at the end of the term on a subject of her or his choice, subject to instructor approval,  linked to climate change.

                 As to both choices: The final paper may be on a subject not covered during the term.

                 As to Choice B: Students may co-author a paper. And the instructor may offer some topic possibilities from which students can choose, if they’d like.

    The seminar intends to provide a gathering place for millennials to collect and form views and understandings concerning the existential risks that climate change poses to the lives of ordered opportunity that your generation expects to lead. It will attempt to provide some  valuable opportunities to respond.

Entrepreneurial enterprises have been working to beneficially address the causes and effects of climate change for some time in fields such as clean energy, drug development, agricultural sciences and a wide variety of industrial fields. Many of today’s entrepreneurs hear the call for start-ups charting mitigation approaches, adaptation strategies, or perhaps even remedies, to climate change. Arguably a problem itself caused by entrepreneurs – how many tons of greenhouse gases can be traced back to innovative new businesses through history deploying the combustion engine, steam turbine and Haber method? - an argument can be made that harnessing the same forces to address it will be one of our most effective response strategies.

This course focuses on the nexus of entrepreneurialism and climate change, a scope that includes special legal, policy, technical and business issues as well as standard entrepreneur business law and practice topics. It is designed for Law students interested in supporting and working with entrepreneurs, and/or in being one him- or herself, but it also is structured to be suitable for McCombs and LBJ School students. The course covers the following subjects: 1) entrepreneurialism and climate change, in particular the historical and future relationships between the two; 2) technical, scientific and policy background on climate change (UN IPCC, National Climate Assessment, Paris Agreement etc.); 3) legal issues of climate change and business, including tort/regulatory exposure, SEC disclosures and social good vs. shareholder duties; 4) historical precedents of entrepreneurialism as a response to crises; and 5) basics of new venture creation and practice, including business plan drafting and investment pitching.

The class culminates in a final assignment in which each student writes a business plan for a venture of his or her choosing, where the plan must be designed to both present a compelling investment opportunity and also beneficially address climate change adaptation and/or mitigation. Grading is based on several short writing assignments, the final project and class participation.

Entrepreneurial enterprises have been working to beneficially address the causes and effects of climate change for some time in fields such as clean energy, drug development, agricultural sciences and a wide variety of industrial fields. Many of today’s entrepreneurs hear the call for start-ups charting mitigation approaches, adaptation strategies, or perhaps even remedies, to climate change. Arguably a problem itself caused by entrepreneurs – how many tons of greenhouse gases can be traced back to innovative new businesses through history deploying the combustion engine, steam turbine and Haber method? - an argument can be made that harnessing the same forces to address it will be one of our most effective responses.

This course focuses on the nexus of entrepreneurialism and climate change, a scope that includes special legal, policy, technical and business issues as well as standard entrepreneur business law and practice topics. It is designed for Law students interested in supporting and working with entrepreneurs (and/or in being one him- or herself) but it also is structured to be suitable for McCombs and LBJ School students. The course covers the following subjects: 1) Background on entrepreneurialism and climate change, and the historical relationship between the two; 2) Technical background on climate change (UN IPCC, National Climate Assessment, Paris Agreement etc.); 3) Legal issues of climate change and business, including tort/regulatory exposure, SEC disclosures and social good vs. shareholder duties; 4) Historical precedents of entrepreneurialism as a response to crises; and 5) Basics of new venture creation and practice, including business plan drafting and investment pitching.

Grading is based on class participation, several writing assignments and the final project, which requires each student to write an abbreviated "business plan" for a new business venture of their choosing that will beneficially affect mitigation and/or adaptation to climate change.

This Writing Seminar will expose students to the latest cutting-edge ideas and research methods in constitutional studies. Students will be given the tools to produce their own publishable work in comparative constitutional law and politics. Students will be trained on how to make a paper presentation in advance of presenting their drafts near the end of the term. Students will also have the opportunity to engage with the work of (and have dinner with) leading scholars in the field, who will visit this Writing Seminar to present their works-in-progress, eager for student reactions and feedback. Evaluation will be based on class participation, two response papers (graded pass/fail), one class presentation, and one final term paper.

This is a colloquium-style writing seminar on cutting-edge research and issues involving complex litigation.  In most of the classes, we will host a workshop during which a leading scholar, typically from another University, will present a paper on which the speaker is currently working.  Students are required to write short critiques of each of the speakers’ papers, and the critiques typically will be provided to the speaker.  Students receive detailed comments from both professors on each of their papers. 

This is a colloquium-style writing seminar on cutting-edge research and issues involving complex litigation.  In most of the classes, we will host a workshop during which a leading scholar, typically from another University, will present a paper on which the speaker is currently working.  Students are required to write short critiques of each of the speakers’ papers, and the critiques typically will be provided to the speaker.  Students receive detailed comments from both professors on each of their papers. 

This is a colloquium-style writing seminar on cutting-edge research and issues involving complex litigation.  In most of the classes, we will host a workshop during which a leading scholar, typically from another University, will present a paper on which the speaker is currently working.  Students are required to write short critiques of each of the speakers’ papers, and the critiques typically will be provided to the speaker.  Students receive detailed comments from both professors on each of their papers. 

This is a colloquium-style writing seminar on cutting-edge research and issues involving complex litigation.  In most of the classes, we will host a workshop during which a leading scholar, typically from another University, will present a paper on which the speaker is currently working.  Students are required to write short critiques of each of the speakers’ papers, and the critiques typically will be provided to the speaker.  Students receive detailed comments from both professors on each paper. 

The objective of this Writing Seminar is to give students the tools to produce their own publishable work in comparative constitutional law and politics. Students will be trained on how to identify and select an idea for a paper, how to write a paper, and how to make a paper presentation. Students will also have the opportunity to learn writing and research tips from, engage with the work of, and have dinner with leading scholars in the field, who will visit this Writing Seminar to present their works-in-progress. Evaluation will be based on class participation, two response papers (graded pass/fail), one class presentation, one annotated bibliography, one paper outline, and one final term paper.

The objective of this Writing Seminar is to give students the tools to produce their own publishable work in comparative constitutional law and politics. Students will be trained on how to identify and select an idea for a paper, how to write a paper, and how to make a paper presentation. Students will also have the opportunity to learn writing and research tips from, engage with the work of, and have dinner with leading scholars in the field, who will visit this Writing Seminar to present their works-in-progress. Evaluation will be based on class participation, two response papers (graded pass/fail), one class presentation, one annotated bibliography, one paper outline, and one final term paper.

The proliferation of new constitutions in recent years has sharpened interest in a subject that has been around since Aristotle but has not always figured prominently in legal studies.  The comparative analysis of constitutions (and related interpretive and structural issues) is now embraced as an essential component of the public law curriculum.  This course will explore alternative traditions of constitutionalism, connecting them to the broader political cultures from which they have emerged.  It will examine the various shades of meaning underlying political values and moral theories that inform concepts -- for example, liberty, autonomy, equality, and community -- within various constitutional traditions.  It will seek to account for the similarities and differences within the constitutional ideas and arrangements in contrasting systems.  It will explore the role of constitutional courts in polities with varying conceptions of judicial review and its significance.  It will consider alternative approaches to the study of constitutional maintenance and change.  It will attempt to clarify the elusive concepts of constitutional identity and revolution.  It will look closely at the ways in which foreign experience might illuminate and possibly enrich American constitutional understandings. And it will consider how the comparative approach might contribute to contemporary debates among constitutional theorists.

No prerequisites

Requirements: class participation (20% of grade); a short reflective paper (20% of grade); and a 25-page research paper (60% of grade)

Courts around the world are becoming more powerful and more deeply involved in setting public policy, deciding important political and social questions, and constraining democratic politics. At the same time, those who should know – and care – the most about this phenomenon, including lawyers, politicians, and political scientists, often operate under mistaken premises concerning courts and law, how politics affects them and how they in turn affect politics. In this course we will try to dispel some of these misunderstandings. We will ask questions like the following: What is behind this global trend? What are courts doing with their newfound powers? When do courts and law have more important consequences for politics and for social change? Perhaps more importantly, is the “judicialization” of politics good, bad or indifferent? And good for whom?

The course examines the role that courts and law play in political systems around the world, including the United States. We begin with an examination of the basic logic of courts and law, and cover such topics as the differences across legal traditions, the creation of constitutional courts, the nature of judicial decision-making, judicial independence, the capacity of courts to produce social change, etc. The ultimate goal is to understand the conditions under which courts are or become consequential actors within the overall social and political system.

The course should be especially relevant to those with an interest in comparative law and legal systems, comparative judicial behavior, the role of courts in politics and social change, and the rule of law around the world. Given the course’s strong institutional focus, the course should also be relevant to those interested in comparative institutional analyses more generally. The readings will include materials on courts around the world, from the US and the rest of North America, to Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe.

Writing Assignments:

For this course you will produce three kinds of written assignments. You will write two reaction papers, minimum of one or two pages, that react to the readings for a particular day, and provide questions to jump start the discussion. You will write one reflection paper of 5-7 pages on at least one of the conceptual or theoretical questions addressed in the course, that offers some original thinking on these issues, grounded in an understanding and critique of the literature we cover. Finally, you will write a paper of 25 to 35 pages on a topic of your choice that at least points in the direction of a conference/article quality piece of work. You will need to make some original claim in your paper, not just repeat and re-process what is already in the literature. Alternatively, you may write a thoughtful critical review of several recent pieces (say, three books) on a topic – for this, the standard will be theoretical and critical originality. A good critical review will still depend on reading more broadly than what we have on the syllabus, in order to bring all the relevant literature to bear.

This seminar explores modern legal structures - legislative and judicial - of the Middle East. It introduces students to the process by which traditional Islamic law was transformed into state law in the 19th and 20th centuries CE, by investigating debates on codification, legal modernity, and legal borrowing. With the emergence of the modern nation-states across the Muslim World, many countries accorded constitutional status to Islamic law as “a source” or “the source” of law and some states purport to base their entire systems on versions of Islamic law. The formation of the modern legal regimes in the Middle East was a hybrid product of Islamic and western legal traditions, which raises questions about legal authority, legality, and the creation of modern legal and judicial institutions. The course aims to encourage comparative legal analysis to assess generalizations about law typically formulated with respect to Western legal traditions. The course discusses cases and codes from Egypt, Israel, Turkey, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. The topics covered in this course are constitutional law, judicial review, administrative law, obligations, commercial law, family law, human rights, and criminal law.

This seminar explores modern legal structures - legislative and judicial - of the Middle East. It introduces students to the process by which traditional Islamic law was transformed into state law in the 19th and 20th centuries CE, by investigating debates on codification, legal modernity, and legal borrowing. With the emergence of the modern nation-states across the Muslim World, many countries accorded constitutional status to Islamic law as “a source” or “the source” of law and some states purport to base their entire systems on versions of Islamic law. The formation of the modern legal regimes in the Middle East was a hybrid product of Islamic and western legal traditions, which raises questions about legal authority, legality, and the creation of modern legal and judicial institutions. The course aims to encourage comparative legal analysis to assess generalizations about law typically formulated with respect to Western legal traditions. The course discusses cases and codes from Egypt, Israel, Turkey, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. The topics covered in this course are constitutional law, judicial review, administrative law, obligations, commercial law, family law, human rights, and criminal law.

This seminar explores modern legal structures – legislative and judicial – of the Middle East. It introduces students to the process by which traditional Islamic law was transformed into state law in the 19th and 20th centuries CE, by investigating debates on codification, legal modernity and legal borrowing. With the emergence of the modern nation-states across the Muslim World, many countries accorded constitutional status to Islamic law as “a source” or “the source” of law and some states purport to base their entire systems on particular versions of Islamic law. The formation of the modern legal regimes in the Middle East was a hybrid product of Islamic and western legal traditions, which raises questions about legal authority, legality, and the creation of modern legal and judicial institutions. The course aims to encourage comparative legal analysis to assess generalizations about law typically formulated with respect to Western legal traditions. The course discusses cases and codes from Egypt, Malaysia, Northern Nigeria, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. The topics covered in this course are constitutional law, judicial review, administrative law, obligations, commercial law, family law, human rights and criminal law.

Supreme Court reform is a hot topic today. But what power do Congress and the President have over the Supreme Court -- and when and how should they use that power? This seminar will examine various issues of Court reform, such as term limits and changes in the Court's size. We will also explore ways in which the political branches can and have enhanced the power of the federal judiciary. Throughout, we will consider broader themes, such as the constitutional separation of powers, the influence of partisan politics, and the importance of judicial legitimacy.

Constitutional courts and transnational tribunals worldwide have become a central forum for dealing with contentious political questions that define and divide entire nations. This seminar offers an opportunity for students to engage with cutting-edge research concerning this global trend—arguably one of the most significant developments in late-20th and early 21st century government. It combines the comparative study of landmark court rulings concerning key political matters with exploration of pertinent social science research concerning the global expansion of constitutionalism and judicial review, modes of constitutional reasoning and judicial decision-making, and political clashes over courts and judicial power. Among the issues covered are the engagement of constitutional courts and constitutional jurisprudence worldwide with democracy, elections and the political process; core dilemmas of collective identity; ethno-nationalist populism and constitutional retrogression; secession and self-determination; religion and diversity; equality; economic and social rights; and restorative justice. Evaluation will be based on participation, a short integrative comment paper, and a final seminar paper.  

Constitutional courts and transnational tribunals worldwide have become a central forum for dealing with contentious political questions that define and divide entire nations. This seminar offers an opportunity for students to engage with cutting-edge research concerning this global trend—arguably one of the most significant developments in late-20th and early 21st century government. It combines the comparative study of landmark court rulings concerning key political matters with exploration of pertinent social science research concerning the global expansion of constitutionalism and judicial review, modes of constitutional reasoning and judicial decision-making, and political clashes over courts and judicial power. Among the issues covered are the engagement of constitutional courts and constitutional jurisprudence worldwide with democracy, elections and the political process; dilemmas of collective identity; ethno-nationalist populism and constitutional retrogression; secession and self-determination; religion and diversity; equality; economic and social rights; and restorative justice. Evaluation will be based on participation, a short integrative comment paper, and a final seminar paper.  

Professor Connie Rosati (Department of Philosophy & Law)

Commentators, scholars, and even Supreme Court justices often write about constitutional originalism with little understanding of the variety of originalist theories that exist. These theories, from textualism to libertarian originalism to living originalism, differ markedly.  In particular, they differ in how would handle questions concerning “implied” or “unenumerated” rights.  In this seminar, we will explore various contemporary versions of originalism, as well as some of the many criticisms that originalism has faced. 

This writing seminar will examine the intersection of the law of business organizations with constitutional law (and public law more generally). We will explore the law and history of corporate personhood. How and why did a corporation become a constitutional person? We will consider the meaning of corporate personhood for speech, religious exercise, due process, and equal protection and discuss questions like: Can a corporation have a race or gender? When should organizations have rights under the Constitution? What significance should the corporate form have? We will interrogate contemporary decisions in cases like Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. Because business organizations collectively (and sometimes singly) hold immense power over resources, employees, and governmental policies, as we consider corporate rights we will also query whether business organizations should bear responsibilities. Readings will include judicial opinions, scholarly articles, legislation, and regulations. Students will be expected to participate actively in class discussions, to submit brief discussion questions, and to complete and present a research paper on any topic salient to the course.

For most of their history, credit cards have been largely unregulated. That changed in 2009 with the passage of the CARD Act, which directly regulated their substantive terms for the first time. Credit cards are receiving even more scrutiny from the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In this seminar, we will examine how these changes have affected the credit industry and the consumers who borrow from it. Questions to be considered include: Has regulation decreased the supply or increased the price of credit? Have the new laws helped consumers, or have they negatively restricted consumer choice? What provisions have been most and least effective? What lessons can we apply to other consumer credit relationships? And perhaps most importantly, are these laws an aberration in the history of a free-market product, or is regulation the future of credit cards? We will also briefly touch on credit card fraud and the conflicts between credit card issuers and merchants. We will read a variety of materials, including CFPB publications about the agency's latest enforcement actions. Grades will be apportioned as follows: 50%, final papers; 25%, students' first draft of their papers; and 25%, class paritipcation.