LAWS6687 · Law

Regulating the Family

Boston College Law School

This course explores how the law regulates and shapes the family, that channels core aspects of human existence love, care, and dependency and how such regulation changes over time. It further enquires how this regulation relates to different conceptions of what we consider just and equitable. The course also interrogates the underlying policy preferences of existing regulation and ponders on the dilemmas that proposals for reform pose. The first half of the course explores the theories of the legal regulation of the family and looks at key historical stakes along the axes of gender, sexuality, race and class. The second half delves into concrete questions and debates about adult romantic relationships, parent-child relationships and the specific issues arising out of the human life-cycle, including childhood and aging.Throughout the course we will try to unsettle boundaries of the public/private and domestic/global. The readings are drawn from a broad range of sources/disciplines, including law, history, sociology, economics, political theory and popular media. No prior knowledge of family law is necessary.