Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Date
3-2013
Abstract
Human rights (HR) issues, which often reveal themselves from a comparative perspective, are not categorized as such in law schools though they lie beneath fundamental structural decisions. Institutional funding and access directly impact educational, social, economic – and racial -- equality. Curriculum development and coverage – in doctrinal courses and so-called "clinics"– require reflection upon the amount of resources expanded on the teaching of human rights, the connections made between human rights and related subject areas, the restriction of human rights discourse to specific courses. Student affairs regularly deal with human rights questions ranging from religious to disability accommodations. The potential for unequal gender treatment seems ever present from the selection of entry-criteria to choice of teaching modality. If these issues were categorized as human rights issues -- rather than as questions of management, students or academic freedom -- they would be approached with different gravitas and with a defined legal framework.
Recommended Citation
Nora V. Demleitner, Can and Should Human Rights Themes Impact Decision-making in a Law School? Reflections from the U.S. Perspective (Mar. 2013) (unpublished paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Association of Law Schools Annual Meeting, available at http://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/wlufac/291/).
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