Legal Studies 392SS - S-Same-Sex Marriage
Fall
2015
01
3.00
Cheryl Jacques
TU 4:00PM 6:30PM
UMass Amherst
40763
This course homes in on the nexus of political contestation and legal
interventions over the question of same-sex marriage. Drawing on legal
studies, sociology, anthropology, comparative religion, history and other
interdisciplinary scholarship, we will investigate how same-sex marriage
fits into post-Cold War American political and legal culture, with an
emphasis on the social movements and political entities which have forced
the issue via traditional activism, media spectacle and lawfare.
interventions over the question of same-sex marriage. Drawing on legal
studies, sociology, anthropology, comparative religion, history and other
interdisciplinary scholarship, we will investigate how same-sex marriage
fits into post-Cold War American political and legal culture, with an
emphasis on the social movements and political entities which have forced
the issue via traditional activism, media spectacle and lawfare.
Open to Seniors, Juniors & Sophomores only. Pre Req: LEGAL 250 Fall 2015 course will have emphasis on the following:
This course will focus on the rapidly growing support for marriage equality for same sex couples. This course will explore how society went from the point of criminalizing same sex relationships and deeming them a form of mental illness, to having a majority of americans support marriage equality. Specifically, students will study the progress made in the courts and the legal strategy employed to win equal marriage rights. Landmark decisions like Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health, which made Massachusetts the first state in the country to recognize same-sex marriage and Hollingsworth v. Perry, the California decision which struck down prop 8's ban on gay marriage and United States v. Windsor, where the Supreme Court struck down the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) to the most recent case before the Supreme Court, Obergefell v. Hodges, the case that could bring marriage equality nationwide.
This course will focus on the rapidly growing support for marriage equality for same sex couples. This course will explore how society went from the point of criminalizing same sex relationships and deeming them a form of mental illness, to having a majority of americans support marriage equality. Specifically, students will study the progress made in the courts and the legal strategy employed to win equal marriage rights. Landmark decisions like Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health, which made Massachusetts the first state in the country to recognize same-sex marriage and Hollingsworth v. Perry, the California decision which struck down prop 8's ban on gay marriage and United States v. Windsor, where the Supreme Court struck down the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) to the most recent case before the Supreme Court, Obergefell v. Hodges, the case that could bring marriage equality nationwide.