Legal Studies

This course examines debated issues in sport such as doping, violence, racial discrimination, the impact of technology, transgender athletes, limitation of certain fundamental rights, sports nationalism, e-ports, match-fixing, and legal and illegal bets.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale program. The course is intended for advanced level students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. The aims of the course are: to make students familiar with feminist and queer theories and critiques of liberalism and liberal legal systems to the extent that they incorporate biases relating to gender and sexual orientation; to show how seemingly neutral legal norms are shaped by particular conceptualizations of gender, sexuality and sexual orientation; to introduce the debate concerning the partnership of feminism and multiculturalism and prompt a reflection on what constitutes gender (in)equality in a culturally diverse world; to familiarize students with the ways in which the law has contended with sexual difference, sexual orientation, gender-based stereotypes and the meaning of sexuality in European, transnational and international contexts. This course is designed to provide students with a critical understanding of the gendered structure of the law. Feminist and queer critiques of liberalism have challenged traditional ways of thinking about law and legal systems and have called into question some of the fundamental tenets of liberal democracy, such as equality, neutrality, justice, non-discrimination and universalism. These theories have highlighted how the law has created and reinforced gender roles, and how gender-related social and cultural constructs have shaped the balance of power and privilege in a liberal society. In this light, the course addresses a wide range of both theoretical and institutional problems, as well as thematic issues, pertaining to different areas of law, including citizenship, reproductive rights, marriage, sexuality, and violence. The course highlights how legal norms reflect gender-based stereotypes and how these impact the lives of people of different genders and sexual orientations. It also focuses on the increasing difficulties that multi-cultural societies experience in conceptualizing gender equality, examining contentious issues such as the regulation of religious marriage, and other gender-related “cultural clashes”. Module 2 tackles these issues in the context of Muslim societies, with a particular focus on Islamic feminism and Muslim women theologians, family law and women's political participation in predominantly Muslim countries.

This course uses concepts and tools in microeconomics. The purpose of the course is to clarify phenomena and problems that are inherent in the market economy by an examination of the laws and economic systems that support the internal and contractual structure of the market. In particular, the course focuses on Coase Theorem and its application to nuisance law, sales law, and tort law. This is a lecture course, but students are expected to work on "legal cases" in three groups (plaintiff, defendant, and judge or jury) in each class, and are expected to participate in the deliberations of the cases among the three groups.
 

This course examines ethical references within Spanish and European legal frameworks, specifically, contemporary ethical issues that have arisen in the field of cultural industries. It provides an introduction to the Spanish judicial system, the system of rights and freedoms as outlined in the Constitution, in the European Union and in international law. The course covers the freedom of expression and right to information, configuration of cultural industries, and deontology of information.

This course explores freedom of speech and hate speech and the laws and fine lines around both. Beginning through an American lens, it then compares these concepts with an international, European viewpoint. The course investigates American cases versus European cases.

This course helps students to understand how principles of human rights and social justice underpin social work today. The course introduces students to international human rights frameworks and legislation relevant to social work law and policy. There is a focus on law and policy as it affects social work practice in the UK, particularly in Scotland, and students also consider examples from a wider international field. The course forms a substantial part of the social work degree program and reflects the Standards in Social Work Education set for social work qualifying programs in Scotland. The course welcomes students who are not registered for the social work program but who are interested in how law and policy work together in this important area of social welfare.

This course uses microeconomic theory to understand and evaluate law and public policy. It covers four main economic theory areas: property, contracts, torts, and legal processes. The economic theory of property section covers bargaining, protection of property rights, and the economics of government taking. In economic theories of contracts, topics include remedies as incentives, formation defenses, and performance excuses. Economic theory of torts examines tort liability, evidentiary uncertainty, punitive damages, and product liability law. The final section on economic theory of legal processes covers why people sue, settlement bargaining, and trials and appeals.