Legal Institutions and Social Change: From Latin America to the United States by Way of Europe

Instructor: Ángel Oquendo

While this is not an Honors course, Prof. Oquendo welcomes Honors students of any major and would be happy to offer Honors conversions for interested students.

This course deals with constitutional law, as well as with specific areas of private law, such as civil law, civil procedure, and business law, and considers how legal institutions further social change. It first introduces the civil law tradition, as well as legal history, comparing Latin America to the United States and Europe. The discussion then shifts to constitutional law: to the notion of constitutionalism, to basic principles, to the vindication of rights, and to second and third generation entitlements. Thereafter the focus will be civil law–i.e., civil codes, interpretation, combating codified sexism, and civil remedies–and on civil procedure–specifically on the attainment of legitimacy through procedure, on procedural guaranties, and on collective actions. The class closes with an exploration of corporate law.

Professor Oquendo is a George J. and Helen M. England Professor of Law at UConn School of Law. He has lectured and published extensively in five languages and is an authority worldwide on comparative law and international litigation. He graduated from Yale Law School and clerked for Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

For additional information contact: El Instituto, Anne Theriault, at 860-486-5508.

One credit, Honors.
Instructors: Jaclyn Chancey and Kaitlin Heenehan

As the next generation of innovators, researchers, entrepreneurs, and problem-solvers, STEM students will need 21^st Century Skills: collaboration & communication; critical thinking & problem solving; and creativity & innovation. While these skills may develop over time through courses in students’ majors and other enrichment opportunities, they are rarely taught directly. This course, associated with a new speaker series, will engage students in the development and application of 21st century skills within an interdisciplinary STEM context–one that is focused beyond the undergraduate curriculum.

Course structure: This class will meet for two hours each Friday. The first hour (2:30 – 3:20) will be devoted to the speaker series and will be open and advertised to all interested students. The second hour (3:35 – 4:25) will consist of additional discussions and small group activities limited to those enrolled in the course.

A preview of the speaker series:

• Dr. Colleen Spurling, Molecular and Cell Biology, will speak on communicating STEM to non-STEM audiences
• Dr. Mike Miller, Communication, will speak on the science behind relationship building
• Dr. Lucy Gilson, Management, will speak on effective and innovative teams
• Dr. Scott Brown, Educational Psychology, will speak on problem solving strategies in STEM
• Dr. Allison MacKay, Civil and Environmental Engineering, will speak on human rights and STEM
• Dean Kazem Kazerounian, Engineering, will speak on innovation and creativity in STEM professions

A permission number is required. Please email kaitlin.heenehan@uconn.edu and include your name and 7-digit Student Admin number.