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Rape, Culture and the Law
Associate Dean Ilene Seidman,
2 credits day; 2 credits evening.
In the past thirty years the movement for gender equality in the law has resulted in significant
reforms in rape laws across the country. Although they represent unprecedented steps towards a
more appropriate legal response to rape, these reforms have largely failed to produce significant
changes in outcomes in the criminal justice system. This course will examine the possible
reasons-legal and cultural- for this failure. Students will study the development of judicial and
legislative responses to the demand for rape law reform beginning in the 1970's including the
changing definition of rape, rape shield statutes, expansion of evidentiary privileges, marital rape
exclusions, and rape as civil rights and international law violations. Students will further
examine the social and cultural attitudes that underlie both the reforms and their failure in an
attempt to understand the ways in which law and culture collide. Students enrolled in the seminar
may also elect additional credits for an internship placement at The Victim Rights Law Center
which will offer them an opportunity to work on behalf of individual rape victims or on related
research projects.
Enrollment is limited: 20
Elective Course
May Fulfill Legal Writing Requirement
Final Paper Required