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Prof. Marc A. Rodwin,
3 credits day; 3 credits evening.
This course examines civil disobedience and protest from legal, philosophical and historical
perspectives. Issues discussed include: reasons for obeying or disobeying the law; the relation
between law and ethics; varieties of civil disobedience; arguments used to justify civil
disobedience; the use of civil disobedience in social change and protest movements; the role of
lawyers in representing those engaged in civil disobedience; whether lawyers can participate in
civil disobedience. We will examine the writing of authors who seek to justify civil disobedience
and their critics starting with the classical Greek thought and focusing on Henry Thoreau,
Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., John Rawls, and contemporary writers. The course
examines the use of civil disobedience in Gandhi's South African Rights and Indian
independence movement, the American civil rights movement, opposition to the war in Viet
Nam, the environmental movement, and the anti-abortion movement, and in contemporary
protest movements in the United States and other countries.<p> Students may elect to write a
paper in lieu of the final exam. Students who wish to fulfill the law school legal writing
requirement may after completing the course enroll in a Directed Study for credit with Professor
Rodwin and write an extended paper that builds on the paper written for the class. Grades will be
based on a paper (80%), exam (20%) and class participation. Not offered 2012-2013
Elective Course
On List of Recommended Perspectives Courses
May Fulfill Legal Writing Requirement
Final Paper Required
Civil Procedure