History 397DV - ST-Hist/Domestic Violence Law

This course will examine the evolution of the legal treatment of violence in intimate relationships, focusing specifically on the post-war United States and paying particular attention to the rise of the movement against domestic violence in the 1970s and 1980s. Through an analysis of court cases, legislation and law review articles, we will look at how and why such violence came to be seen as a crime and the criminal and civil legal responses to it. We will explore issues such as: the evolution from a feminist activist battered women's movement to the professionalization of domestic violence services; the development of civil orders of protection and the shelter movement; the criminalization of domestic violence (particularly in light of mass incarceration), women as defendants, and Battered Women's Syndrome; domestic violence in the context of employment and child custody; the Violence Against Women Act; and how domestic violence-and the legal responses to it-might impact victims/survivors differently depending on factors such as race/ethnicity, income level, immigration status, sexual orientation/gender identity, age, and marital status. Prior law-related coursework is helpful, but not required.

Open to Seniors, Juniors & Sophomores only. "Domestic Violence Law"; Prior law related coursework helpful, but not required.