LegisltvPrcss&PolitRhetoric (LAW-821B-001)
Raskin, Blattner
Notices
There are no notices at this time.
Description
Legislative Process and Political
Rhetoric Seminar
Professor Jamie Raskin and Professor Jeff Blattner
Law school education tends to be organized around the image of a lawyer
arguing before a judge. But what if we replaced this image with a
lawyer organizing a protest movement, running for office, making a
speech, drafting legislation, or casting a vote in Congress?
The subject of this Class is the dynamic interaction of democratic
process, individual leadership, political rhetoric, legislative
institutions, the Constitution and the law governing elections.
It is organized around a series of problems and inquiries designed to
develop and sharpen your skills as a lawyer engaged in public things
and as an effective political organizer, leader or legislator if you
choose to follow a path of public service.
The Class has two parts. The first examines the politics of law:
the legislative process and the complex dialectics of social movement,
personal leadership and public rhetoric that interact with that process
to bring, or stifle, political change in
America. The second reverses the focus and
examines the law of politics, specifically significant historical and
contemporary problems in the arrangement of American political
democracy, elections and citizenship. The constant factor in our
deliberations is the inextricable relationship between law and politics.
There will be between 50 and 100 pages of reading on average per week;
please do your readings thoroughly in advance. Most of the
readings are available on-line through our class site. Others are
available through the hyperlinks contained in this syllabus.
Students should prepare to answer the most important problems and
questions raised in the syllabus and by the readings; on many class
days, we ask you to prepare with a partner or to deliver a written
response. We will occasionally bring guests to class who
will speak about their work as legislative lawyers or public
officials.
Textbooks and Other Materials
The textbook information on this page was provided by the instructor. Students should use this information when considering purchases from the AU Campus Store or other vendors. Students may check to determine if books are currently available for purchase online.
First Class Readings
For the first class, please do all of the readings for Class 1 on the syllabus. We’ll see you on Monday, January 11.
Syllabus
Use your MyAU username and password to access the syllabus in the following format(s):