Seminar: Law, Politics, and the Family
Fall 2004
Professor Ann Laquer Estin

Seminar Outline

Week 1
Tuesday, August 31
Starting Points:
Seminar Materials: Barber v. Barber (1859); Maynard v. Hill (1888).
Nancy Cott, Public Vows: A History of Marriage and the Nation (2000), pages 1 - 55.

Week 2
Tuesday, September 7
Race and Religion
Seminar Materials: Loving v. Virginia (1967); Palmore v. Sidoti (1984);
Reynolds v. United States (1878); Cleveland v. United States (1946).
Cott, pp. 56 - 131.

Week 3
Tuesday, September 14
Parents' Rights
Seminar Materials: Meyer v. Nebraska (1923); Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925);
Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972); Santoskey v. Kramer (1982).

Week 4
Tuesday, September 21 *Topic Selection Report Due
Procreation
Seminar Materials: Buck v. Bell (1927); Skinner v. Oklahoma (1942);
Roe v. Wade (1973).

Week 5
Tuesday, September 28
Marital and Sexual Privacy
Seminar Materials: Griswold v. Connecticut, (1965); Eisenstadt v. Baird (1972);
Bowers v. Hardwick (1986); Lawrence v. Texas (2003).

Week 6
Tuesday, October 5 *Outline Due
Family, Work and Gender
Seminar Materials:
Bradwell v. State of Illinois (1872); Muller v. Oregon (1908); Goesaert v. Cleary (1948); Frontiero v. Richardson (1973); Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld (1975); Orr v. Orr (1979).
Cott, pp. 156-179.

Week 7
Tuesday, October 12
Children's Rights
Seminar Materials: In re Gault (1967); Parham v. J.R. (1979);
Carey v. Population Services International (1977).

Week 8
Tuesday, October 19
Divorce
Seminar Materials: Haddock v. Haddock (1906); Williams v. North Carolina (1942); Williams v. North Carolina (1945); Sherrer v. Sherrer (1948); Boddie v. Connecticut (1971).
Cott, pp.180-199.

Week 9
Tuesday, October 26
Domestic Violence
Seminar Materials: Violence Against Women Act; U.S. v. Morrison (2000).

Week 10
Tuesday, November 2 * First Draft Due
Same Sex Marriage
Seminar Materials: Defense of Marriage Act (1996); Goodridge v. Department of Public Health (Mass. 2003).

Week 11
Tuesday, November 9 Discuss student papers

Week 12
Tuesday, November 16 Discuss student papers

Week 13
Tuesday, November 23 Discuss student papers

Week 14
Tuesday, November 30 * Final Draft Due
Conclusion
Cott, pp. 200-227.