Legal Studies Latest News as of 12/16/24

December 16, 2024
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1)  190.5 Open Seats
2  Peking U Prog

3)  Publish

4)  Natamst 102

5)  Research Opps.

6)  Legalst 113

7)  Anthro 189

8) Registrar Needs Input

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1) 190.5 Open Seats
190.5 Open Seats
190.5  Global Supply Chains and Labor Regulation, Sanchita Banerjee Saxena, 4 units, Area III or V  

This class will focus on how global businesses should approach addressing and improving labor conditions in their supply chainsin the context of a new and evolving regulatory framework. We will explore which private interventions have alreadybeen tried, but which approaches might be more impactful.How can companies respond to the various pressures they are facing (i.e.soft law guidelines, new regulations, investor pressures, consumer demands) and address
these issues more effectively? And how can global corporations make adjustments to a business model,which itself often perpetuates poor labor conditions and a lack of human rights throughout the supply chain? We will also examine legal “innovations,” like binding agreements and responsible contracting to improve human rights in the supply chain.We will use examples from a wide range of industries, including technology, apparel, retail, mining/ extractives, agriculture,seafood/fishing, and mega sporting events.
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2)  Peking U Prog
Peking U Prog

In the summer of 2025, Peking University (PKU) will launch a new Academic Explorers in China Program, in collaboration with partner universities in the U.S., as part of their China Deep Dive: Global Young Leaders Program.

Participants will attend lectures on the PKU campus and participate in guided excursions in and around Beijing. Students from PKU will also join the program, fostering a mutual understanding of cultures and values. This initiative aims to encourage participants to form lifelong friendships that will support them as they transition into future leadership roles.

As a partner university, UC Berkeley has been invited to recommend 6-8 undergraduate students to participate in the program. 

The application deadline is Monday, December 23, 2024. 

Late and incomplete applications will NOT be considered. PKU will announce the results in mid-January to all the partner universities.

PKU will cover all in-country expenses, and CCS will cover visa application fees (if applicable) as well as up to $2,000 for international travel costs between San Francisco (SFO) and Beijing.

Could you help us spread the word through the legal studies program? Students may contact me at ccs@berkeley.edu for questions or concerns.
 
Here's the link to the online application form.
For more information, go HERE
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3)  Publish
Publish

We are The Harper Review, a review of politics and culture run by University of Chicago students that takes inspiration from publications such as Compact, The Hedgehog Review, The New Criterion, The Point, The Drift, The New Statesman, Dissent, First Things, County Highway and classics like The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and Harper’s Magazine. 


We are now looking for essays and shorter “letters” for our winter issue. 


We’re interested in essays that:

  • Thoughtfully explore cultural and political phenomena.

  • Don’t rely on academic jargon or vogue.

  • Are written for a general audience without talking down or dumbing down.

  • Are 1,500–2,500 words—we’re happy to look at longer or marginally shorter pieces, but we want to give writers space to fully flesh out their ideas.

  • Argue something we may not hear from the talking heads.

  • Connect life on the ground to big ideas and vice versa. 

  • Take those that disagree seriously. 


Note: we don’t want academic papers—ideas from class papers can inspire our essays, but we are a general-audience magazine, not an academic journal.


We’re also looking for shorter “letters” (4–5 paragraphs or 400–600 words) responding to the statement “The ivory tower should endure.” Argue in favor, against, or that the statement itself is flawed—we want to hear it all. 


If you’re looking for inspiration for the letters prompt, you can check out our contributing editor Francesco P. Rahe’s essay on the merits of learning in wartime from our Fall issue.


Want to get more of a sense of our magazine? Here are a few highlights from the archive: New York University Ph.D. student Nicolas McKelvie reflects on New York City’s campaign against lanternflies. Longtime activist and educator Bill Ayers talks about children’s natural nose for lies. Magazine cofounder and USA Today editor Surya Gowda argues that the new media paradigm manufactures dissent


If any of this sounds like your jam, shoot us a draft or a pitch and a writing sample at harperreview@gmail.com. If you are interested in subscribing to our weekly email newsletter or reading pieces we’ve published in the past, please visit our website. We will be accepting drafts for our Winter issue until January 5th—we hope to hear from you!


Sincerely,

The editors of The Harper Review

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4)  Natamst 102
Natamst 102
NOTE: This is an approved law-related course that counts in Area IV or V.

NATAMST 102  CRITICAL NATIVE AMERICAN LEGAL

AND POLICY STUDIES, SPRING 2025

Provisional Course Outline (December, 2024)

Course Description  How are Tribal governments and Native American communities living in "Indian Country" shaped by U.S. federal laws and policies, and how do they use these laws and policies (and sometimes resist them) to address the needs of Native people?  Topics include the significance of treaties and the basic legal tenets of tribal sovereignty, and ongoing tribal struggles to expand tribal sovereignty.  The Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota is examined as a case study of tribal struggles for environmental justice, tribal sovereignty, and tribal control over tribal territory.  The role of the fossil fuel (coal and oil) in underwriting--not undermining--is examined through the case of the Navajo  Finally, the course takes up key court cases regarding the freedom of Native Americans to practice traditional religions without state interference, and with reasonable accommodations on public (federal and state) lands.

Basis of Grade:  Four 5-page essays.

CLASS SESSIONS

PART I:  TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY AND TREATIES

Class 1:  How Indigenous Peoples and the Supreme Court Read Treaties

Reading:  Vine Deloria, Jr. (Dakota), "Domestic Dependent Nations

Class 2:  A Brief History of Federal Indian Policy and Law

Reading:  Steven Pevar, "A History of Federal Indian Policy

Class 3:  The Birth of the Modern Tribal Sovereignty Movement in the 1970s

Reading:  Deloria, The Occupation of the BIA" & "The Confrontation at Wounded Knee"at Wounded Knee"

Film: "Wounded Knee  

Class 4:  Sovereignty and Treaties

Reading:  John Dougherty, "Talk the Language of the Wider World" [about fishing rights in Oregon and Washington]

Class 5:  Sovereignty without Treaties

Reading:  Larisa K. Miller, "The Secret Treaties with California Indians"

Reading:  Walt Lara (Yurok) and Kishan Lara-Cooper (Yurok/Hupa/Karuk, "Fish Wars on the Klamath River"  [about the struggle for fishing rights in northwestern California]

Class 6:  Civil Rights within Tribes, or, Does the U.S. Constitution Apply to Indian Tribes (No):  Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez (1978)

Reading:  Francine R. Skenandore (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin/Prairie Band Potawatomi),

Class 7  Tribal Authority over Non-Indians (Criminal):  Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe (1978)

Reading:  Robert Williams, "Rehnquist' Language of Racism in Oliphant"  

Class 8:  "Plenary Power":  Congress Can Limit and Expand Tribal Sovereignty

Reading:  Roert Williams (Lumbee), "The Rise of the Plenary Power Doctrine

Reading:  "Fort Peck Tribes Expand Criminal Jurisdiction over Non-Indians

Class 9:  Indian Reservations and Tribal Sovereignty in Oklahoma:  McGirt v. Oklahoma (U.S. Sup. Court, 2020)  

Reading: Robert Miller (Eastern Shawnee and Torrey Dolan (Choctaw), "The Indian Law Bombshell"

THE DAKOTA ACCESS PIPELINE

Class 10  The Threat of DAPL and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's Court Case

Reading 14:  Nick Estes (Lakota) & Jaskiran Dhillon, "Introduction:  The Black Snake, #NoDAPL, and the Rise of a People's Movement"

Reading:   Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota)  Reading will be provided in class.

Class 11

Film:  "Awake:  A Dream from Standing Rock"

Class 12:  DAPL, Treaties, and Tribal Sovereignty

Reading:  Elizabeth Ellis (Peoria), "Centering Sovereignty

Class 13:  DAPL, Treaties, and Tribal Sovereignty (cont.)

Reading:  Andrew Curley (Diné), "Beyond Environmentalism"

Class 14:  Settler Colonialism and the Infrastructure of of Capitalism

Reading:  Shiri Paternak and Tia Dafnos, "How Does a Settler State Secure the Circuitry of Capital? 

Class 15:  The Army Corps of Engineers Environmental Impact Statement on DAPL

Reading:  Selections from the EIS

Class 16:  Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the current situation)

Reading:  Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, "Call for the Shutdown of DAPL

FOSSIL AND FUEL EXTRACTION AND TRIBAL GOVERNMENT

Classes  17-22

Reading:  Andrew Curley (Diné):  Carbon Sovereignty:  Coal, Development, and Energy Transition in the Navajo Nation

AMERICAN INDIAN RELIGIOUS FREEDOM & SACRED SITES    

Class 23:  A Sacred Site in Northwest California   

Readings:  Walt Lara (Yurok) and Kishan Lara-Cooper (Yurok/Hupa/Karuk), "Across the Lagoon:  The Inspiration behind the Northwest Indian Cemetery Protection Association"

Chris Peters (Pohlik-lah/Karuk) and Chisa Oros (Toeme/Zuni), "Protecting Our Sacred Sites:  Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protection Association (NICPA)"

Class 24: 

Film:  "The Peyote Road"

Class 25:  Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protection Association

Reading:  Walter Echohawk (Pawnee/Yakama), "Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Association:  Taking the Holy Places"

Class 26:  States Attempt to Criminalize the Native American Church

Reading:  Walter Echohawk, "Employment Division v. Smith:  Taking the Religion"

Optional reading:  J.S. Slotkin, selection from The Peyote Religion

Class 27  Employment Division v. Smith and the "Smith Fix"

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Research Opps
Research Opps

SURF L&S - Summer Undergraduate Research and Fellowship Program

The College of Letters and Science’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program, or SURF L&S, provides $5,000 stipends to students carrying out substantial research projects over the summer months. In addition to funding, SURF fellows are placed into research clusters with near-discipline peers and attend a series of workshops that are intended to support their research process and build community amongst the fellows. To be eligible, students must have an overall 3.0 GPA, be enrolled in the College of Letters & Science, and have the full support of a faculty mentor who has agreed to supervise their research project. Applicants to SURF L&S must prepare a full research proposal; OURS offers information sessions in December and January and proposal writing workshops in January and February to support students applying to the program. Applications for summer 2025 will be due to SURF L&S: Friday March 14, 2025, 12:00pm. Please check the SURF L&S website for additional information and resources.


Rose Hills Summer Scholarships 

Supported by the generosity of the Rose Hills Foundations, these scholarships support both independent and faculty-led research projects in select STEM disciplines, providing recipients with $5,000 in summer funding. Fellows must be US citizens with residency established in Southern California. Preference is given to applicants who have a 3.5 GPA, but consideration will be given to students with a GPA in the range of 3.0-3.49. To apply for a Rose Hills Summer Scholarship, applicants will need to confirm their eligibility (intended or declared major in eligible STEM field, residency in Southern California, and GPA) and submit a brief abstract of their research project. Applications for summer 2025 must be submitted by Friday March 7, 2025, 12pm. For additional information, please visit the Rose Hills Summer Scholarships website.

Haas Scholars Program

Every year, the Haas Scholars Program funds 20 students for up to $14,800 to carry out a capstone project in the summer preceding and during their final year on campus.  Haas Scholars also receive guidance from faculty mentors (who also receive a stipend) and from a full-time staff member, membership in a close-knit interdisciplinary community of scholars, and connections to a network of 500+ alumni. Eligibility:  3.450+ UCB GPA, Graduating Fall ‘25 or Spring/Summer ‘26, and financial need (SAI <$26,000); open to undocumented students, permanent residents, and US citizens. Deadline 2/15/25 by 12pm Noon; interested students should attend an upcoming info session and/or proposal workshop  and contact the Program Manager for an appointment. 

The Judith Lee Stronach Baccalaureate Prize

The Stronach Baccalaureate Prize supports Cal graduates to undertake a public service, creative, or community-based research project in the year following graduation (fall 24, spring and summer 25 graduates eligible). Recipients are awarded up to $25,000 for projects that serve the public good and heighten awareness of social issues. The dates and times of upcoming information sessions are posted on the website. Interested students are highly encouraged to make an appointment with the program manager to discuss their project ideas.  Applications for the 2025 Stronach Prize are due by Monday, March 3, 11:59PM. 

UCDC

UCDC sends juniors and seniors to Washington DC for a semester to live and take classes at the UC Washington Center and intern at a variety of organizations, including on Capitol Hill, in federal agencies, private firms and non-profits, museums and media outlets.  UCDC is open to all majors.  Financial aid and scholarships available. Please visit the website for dates and times of upcoming information sessions, application deadlines, and contact information. Applications for the Fall 2025 semester are due on Thursday, February 20, 2025, 11:59PM. 

URAP

The Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program (URAP) provides an opportunity for Berkeley undergraduates to work with faculty members and research staff on cutting-edge research projects. Working closely with mentors, students will deepen their knowledge and skills in areas of special interest, while experiencing what it means to be part of an intellectual community engaged in research. The program is designed to stimulate awareness of advanced research and interest in graduate study. Students earn 1 unit of academic credit for every 3 hours of research work completed (limited to 4 units per term). Applications for the Spring semester open on January 17, 2025, and are due January 27, 2025 at 4pm.

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6)  Legalst 113
Legalst 113
Professor Kathy Abrams is offering an amazing class Sp25 that still has open seats:
Feminist Social Movements 
It counts as Area I or IV.
This course will survey recurrent dynamics of feminist social movements in the United States, while exploring in depth two contemporary social movements that aim to move the law in toward greater gender equality: the #MeToo Movement, and the movement to restore reproductive rights and advance reproductive justice after Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The primary focus of the course will be on disputes within feminist movements about focus and reach of efforts to combat sexual violence and reproductive restriction: specifically, whether such movements serve primarily to advance the interests of the most privileged women, or whether they ground their work in intersectional analyses that respond to the lives of those impacted by other forms of discrimination. However, the movements, ideologies, and assumptions that work against feminist change in these areas will also be articulated and discussed.
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7) Anthro 189
Anthro 189
NOTE:  This course does not count towards the Legal Studies major.
The Politics of Trauma: Old Vulnerabilities and New Forms of Agency in Conflict Zones
Professor Keren Friedman Peleg
TU/TH | 12:30 PM – 1:59 PM | Social Sciences Building 56 
What happens when psychological trauma is increasingly experienced, as well as promoted and embraced, as the defining characteristic of our daily life? What are the conditions that shape a specific mental disorder – Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – as a marker of national identity and ubiquitous cultural construct, catalyzing new forms of meaning-making at the nexus of psychology, politics, religion, and ethno-national identities? Drawing upon several ethnographic case studies, the course sheds light on the introduction of a peculiar combination of individual psychopathology and collective markers of identity into conflict-ridden communities.
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8) Registrar Needs Input
Registrar Needs Input
We need your input on the future home of 'Suggested Classes'. Please fill out this form to vote for the platform of your choice:
It's three radial buttons to fill in...two if you don't want to receive your answers via e-mail.
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