From left to right: Agnes: “Today, I declare my independence from physical law!” / Trout: “You can’t.” / Agnes: “Yes, I can... If I can choose to disobey civil law, I can choose to disobey physical law... That’s just simple algebra.” / Trout: “No... It’s NOT.” / Agnes: “Whatever... I’m going to go float free of gravity... Want to join me?” / Trout: “Nah... I promised my mom that I’d obey gravity.” (Credit: Tony Cochran)
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Phil/PA/Pol 324: Law and Morality
Asynchronous Online, University of Arizona
Winter 2023, December 18, 2023–January 9, 2024
Instructor: Ding (they/she)
Email: din@arizona.edu
Office: Social Sciences 138
Office hours: By appointment, online (video/audio/chat)
This course is an introduction to the philosophy of law in general and feminist philosophy of law in particular. We will consider several significant philosophical issues at the intersection of law and morality and explore their jurisprudential implications. Topics will include the nature of law, judicial discretion, constitutional and statutory interpretation, civil disobedience, racial equality, gender equality, sexual harassment, reproductive freedom, and LGBTQ+ equality.
syllabus | schedule | D2L site
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A note on my lecture videos: I recorded most of these lectures in the summer of 2021. Back then we understood that a series of cases—most notably, cases implicating reproductive and transgender rights—were on the horizon. Still, in retrospect, it’s shocking how much of the legal landscape has shifted—and how quickly and how radically it has shifted—in just two short years. I taught, as the law transformed, two lower division courses that engaged these issues extensively. But coming back to this course, I’m finding it rather difficult to sit down in front of a camera and record new lectures to incorporate the new developments in the law as they bear on our course. Instead of updating the course through new videos, then, I plan to write a few (hopefully, short) notes to supplement my 2021 lectures. I hope you will understand my decision here.