SPRING 2010 SEMINAR Spring 2010 Seminar:
Colloquium on Law and Development in the Middle East and North Africa
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) remains a region of central global importance for reasons of both economy and national security. In the MENA, movements for legal reform have been on the rise over the past few decades, including those originating from Western concepts, such as human rights, constitutionalism and economic deregulation, and those that rest on Islamic law. One focus of this seminar will be to understand the points of convergence and divergence between these discourses of legal reform.
The seminar will begin by looking at contemporary and traditional approaches to law as a force for economic and social development, and by considering the distinctive characteristics of the MENA against the larger literature on law and development. The seminar will then feature guest lectures from Cornell faculty and experts from around the world. Sample topics include: the creation of a new legal code in Iraq; judicial training for the rule of law in Egypt; constitutionalism in Turkey; human rights as reflected in the UN Arab Human Development Report; and the role of Islamic law in shaping the contemporary family and household. Students will be required to read background materials before each class session, and to write six 3-to-5 page reaction papers.
This class can be taken either for a letter grade or S/U.
