264.53 sec. 001 - Comparative Equality 1 (Fall 2025)
Instructor: David B Oppenheimer (view instructor's teaching evaluations - degree students only | profile)
View all teaching evaluations for this course - degree students only
Units: 2
Grading Designation: Graded
Mode of Instruction: In-Person
Meeting:
W 6:25 PM - 8:15 PM
Location: Law 113
From August 20, 2025
To November 19, 2025
Course End: November 19, 2025
Class Number: 32510
Enrollment info:
Enrolled: 0
Waitlisted: 0
Enroll Limit: 24
As of: 04/04 07:13 AM
Comparative Equality Law: A multi-university course plus a Berkeley seminar
Comparative Equality Law uses a problem-based approach to examine how various legal systems address problems of discrimination and inequality. The overarching themes are (1) equality in theory, (2) equality in law, and (3) equality in society. The course will comparatively examine the United States, the European Union and the Council of Europe (and some of their member states), India, Colombia, South Africa, Canada, and Brazil. Topics will include employment discrimination, gender harassment/violence, marriage equality, affirmative action, reproductive rights, and the intersection of race, religion, and gender in the regulation of Muslim women’s clothing.
The course is taught as two courses which must be taken together. The first course is taught on Zoom and includes law students and faculty from 15 universities, with representation from North America, South America, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Europe. The second course is a Berkeley Law seminar.
For 2025 the course will be organized around seven clusters: (1) an introduction to comparative equality; (2) equality, (under)representation, and “merit”; (3) formal and substantive equality; (4) stereotypes and stigma; (5) equality, dignity, and voice; (6) practicing equality and human rights law; and (7) inclusion and exclusion.
The multi-university course meets weekly for two hours. Each class session includes two faculty lectures (approximately 15 minutes each), two small group discussions in break-out rooms (typically 4-6 students from 3-6 countries plus a discussion leader, again for 15 minutes each), and two plenary session discussions. This is a distance learning course.
The Berkeley seminar meets weekly once a week for two hours for discussions of the reading, discussion of the multi-university lectures and discussions, and presentations and discussion of student papers. Students will write and present a 8-10-page paper, which will be due on Monday, November 1, and will present the paper using presentation software (PowerPoint or an alternative) to the seminar participants in November.
Each university supplies discussion leaders for the breakout sessions in the weekly multi-university Zoom meetings. Berkeley students enrolled in the course will each lead 6 breakout sessions (2 per day on three days) over the course of the semester. Each student will turn in a brief (2-3 page) reflection after leading their discussion groups (thus, 6 reflections total). Preparation to lead a breakout session requires the student to attend or watch a recording of a thirty-minute faculty meeting at which the breakout question is discussed.
Grades for the seminar will be based on the papers and presentations, and in the case of a tie may be raised based on class participation. Grades for the multi-university course will be based on the reflection essays, and in the case of a tie may be raised based on class participation.
|
Requirements Satisfaction:
|
Exam Notes: (P) Final Paper
(Subject to change by faculty member only through the first two weeks of instruction)
Course Category: International and Comparative Law
This course is listed in the following sub-categories:
Race and Law
Social Justice and Public Interest
If you are the instructor or their FSU, you may add a file like a syllabus or a first assignment to this page.
Readers:
No reader.
Books:
Required Books are in blue
- Comparative Equality and Anti-Discrimination Law, Third Edition
David B. Oppenheimer, Sheila R. Foster, Sora Y. Han, Richard T. Ford
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 9781788979214
e-Book Available: unknown
Price: To Be Determined - The Global #MeToo Movement
Ann M. Noel, David B. Oppenheimer
Publisher: Full Court Press
ISBN: 9781949884395
e-Book Available: unknown
Price: To Be Determined