Courses and Reading Groups

Human Rights Advocacy

Human Rights Advocacy will be taught by Lecturer on Law Salma Waheedi in Fall 2021. Ms. Waheedi is Associate Director of the Program on Law and Society in the Muslim World.

Students who enroll in this offering may count the credits towards the JD experiential learning requirement.

Required Clinic Component: International Human Rights Clinic (3-5 fall clinical credits). Students enrolled in the fall clinic must enroll in either this clinical seminar or Business and Human Rights (2 fall classroom credits). Students are not guaranteed their first choice of clinical seminars. Clinical seminar selection and enrollment occurs once a student has enrolled in the fall clinic and is orchestrated by the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs.

Add/Drop Deadline: August 13, 2021.

LLM Students: LLM students may apply to the clinic through the LLM General Clinic Application.

Course Description: Human rights norms and discourse are employed widely by advocates around the world in their struggles for social justice. This course explores what it means to be a human rights advocate, whether one is engaged in debates over U.S. policy at home and abroad, the role of corporations in alleged violations, or the role of rights in times of transitions from conflict. Through case studies and simulations, this seminar examines the various dimensions and limitations of human rights advocacy, including strategic, ethical, and tactical challenges. What are the different ways that human rights can be used? In developing strategies for meaningful change, how do advocates decide which tactics to use and when? The goal is for students to develop core advocacy skills while thinking critically about their work. To that end, the seminar engages seriously with the major critiques and dilemmas faced by human rights advocates, in particular by lawyer-advocates from the Global North. The seminar also grapples with the limits of established approaches of the movement such as litigation, naming and shaming, and explores community lawyering and human rights. How do we engage without perpetuating power differentials along geopolitical, class, race, gender, and other lines? How do we find ways to work in collaboration with directly affected communities and movements? In addition to case studies, students workshop and reflect on their participation in supervised clinical projects, which include fact-finding investigations, media work, negotiations, advocacy, and litigation. Critical reflection will not be the end, but rather the means to find responsible ways of advancing justice. A fall clinical practice component is required of all students. Clinical placements are with the International Human Rights Clinic.

Subject Areas: Human Rights, International, Comparative & Foreign Law

Introduction to Islamic Law

Introduction to Islamic Law will be taught by Professor Kristen Stilt in Spring 2022. Professor Stilt is the Faculty Director for both the Program on Law & Society in the Muslim World and the Animal Law & Policy Program at Harvard Law School.

Course Description: This course is a broad introduction to Islamic law in historical and contemporary forms.  We will first cover the origins and early development of Islamic law, with a focus on how the sources of Islamic law were used to derive a diverse body of rules and how those rules were implemented. We will then turn to the modern era and examine how Islamic law is relevant to legal systems around the world today, using case studies of family law, food law, finance, and criminal law.

Subject Areas: International, Comparative & Foreign Law

Animal Law

Animal Law will be taught by Professor Kristen Stilt in Spring 2022. Professor Stilt is the Faculty Director for both the Program on Law & Society in the Muslim World and the Animal Law & Policy Program at Harvard Law School.

Prerequisite: There are no prerequisites, and 1L students are welcome in the class.

Exam Type: One Day Take-Home Students will be evaluated on the basis of class participation and the final exam.

Course Description: This course will introduce students to the broad range of laws that affect non-human animals (“animals”), including companion animals, farm animals (with a particular focus on factory farms), animals used in the context of entertainment (such as zoos and aquaria), animals used in scientific experimentation, and wild animals. The course will focus mainly on the U.S. but will also include significant attention to the laws of other countries and to international law. The course will also engage with fundamental questions about animals and the law, such as: Are some animals more deserving of protection than others, and if so, on what basis? What role does culture and belief play in animal law—why are dogs considered pets in the U.S. and food in some parts of the world, for example? Does the status of animals as property pose an insurmountable barrier to increasing protections for animals? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the concepts of “animal rights” and “animal welfare”?

Subject Areas: Regulatory Law, Environmental Law, International, Comparative & Foreign Law

Law, Human Rights, and Social Justice in Israel and Palestine

The reading group Law, Human Rights, and Social Justice in Israel and Palestine will be led by Lecturer on Law Salma Waheedi in Spring 2022. Ms. Waheedi is Associate Director of the Program on Law and Society in the Muslim World. 

Prerequisite: This reading group is open to students who have taken or are concurrently taking an HLS course in international human rights. This reading group offers a nuanced exploration of questions of human rights and social justice in the context of Israel and Palestine. We will discuss a range of themes, including the right to self-determination; Israeli and Palestinian nationhood and statehood; refugees and migration; Israel’s control of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem; economic and social justice; and gender justice. We will ground our discussion in a human rights framework, focusing on the interrelation between law, power, and lived experiences. Readings will include international legal instruments, domestic legislation, court decisions, and works by authors from diverse backgrounds and disciplines. Students will be encouraged to employ a reflective and critical approach to the study of law and social justice and to engage constructively with historical and contemporary debates.

Subject Areas: Human Rights, International, Comparative & Foreign Law