Instructor(s): Abraham Drassinower

Note:  This course satisfies the Perspective course requirement. 

The course will examine the foundational idea of a person as the bearer of rights through discussion of relevant case law as well as scholarly commentary and philosophical, psychoanalytic, literary and/or cinematographic works. 

Topics to be worked through may include the distinction between property rights and personal rights, ownership and personhood, battery, defamation, invasion of privacy, property in body parts, the distinction between personal integrity and bodily integrity, competence, the relation between competence and mental disorder, and, more generally, the conditions for the possibility of legally actionable psychological harm. We would aspire throughout to systematize, under the rubric of personality, insights embedded in seemingly diverse juridical terrains such as torts, property, copyright, contract, mental health law, and privacy law.

Evaluation
Evaluation will consist in a 5,000-word paper (80%) on a topic approved by the instructors, six comments (250 words each) on assigned readings (10%), and class attendance and participation (10%).
Academic year
2024 - 2025

At a Glance

First term
Credits
3
Hours
2
SUYRP
Perspective course

Enrolment

Maximum
25

20 JD
5 LLM/SJD/MSL/SJD U

Schedule

T: 2:10 - 4:00 pm