Animal Legal Philosophy

Animal Legal Philosophy - Professor Raj Reddy

• Course Number: LAW-303 - In-Person Section Only
• Course Type: Foundational
• Credits: 2
• Enrollment Limit: Determined by the Registrar
• Description: Questions regarding our relationship with and the moral status of nonhuman animals date back to the roots of early civilization and have increasingly raised both ethical and pragmatic inquiries into our legal duties, if any, toward them. In light of this growing attention being paid to the legal status of animals, the objectives of this course are two-fold: first, to trace the development of Western animal legal philosophy from its roots in ancient Greek and Judaic paradigms to modern jurists; second, to interrogate if and how the law should go beyond classifying animals as merely objects of protections by recognizing them as subjects of rights, or “legal persons,” a status that would further blur the line between human and nonhuman animal kind. Notably, this course will put these questions into larger conversations concerning race, religion, gender, and personhood arguments for other entities, such as nature, corporations, fetuses, deities, and otherwise. As such, students in this course should be prepared to engage both critically and thoughtfully with potentially sensitive issues.
• Prerequisite: none
• Evaluation Method: Participation, presentation, final paper
• Capstone: Yes
• WIE: Yes

Animal Legal Philosophy - Professor Rebecca Critser

• Course Number: LAW-303 - LLM and MSL Distance Students Only
• Course Type: Foundational
• Credits: 3
• Enrollment Limit: Determined by the Registrar
• Description: Forming the basis of animal law is the question of how our laws and legal systems should treat non-human animals. This course examines one possible answer to this question: animal rights. The promotion of rights for nonhuman animals came into prominence in response to and as an alternative to animal welfare measures. Although many find this dichotomy to be an outdated approach, this course will consider the history that led to animal rights and critically assess potential pathways for nonhuman animals to transition from property to right-holding persons. The course will conclude with a consideration of how animal rights would work practically by addressing questions such as ‘which animals’ would receive rights and ‘which rights’ those would be. Students will be expected to complete a substantive paper on a course-related topic approved by the professor at the start of the semester. 
• Prerequisite: none
• Evaluation Method: Participation via discussion posts; and final paper
• Capstone: No
• WIE: No

Notes for LC JDs and residential LLMs and MSLs:

*This class is for online LLM and MSL students. In-person students may petition the Associate Dean of Students, Libby Davis (eadavis@lclark.edu), along with the Director of the Animal Law Program, Rajesh Reddy (rajreddy@lclark.edu), to take the online version if they have a compelling reason for doing so.

Those students should consult the distance learning policy prior to signing up for distance learning courses.