Curriculum Guide · Courses

Professors Gostin and Dybul

J.D. Seminar 369 (cross-listed) | 1 credit hours

This course examines the social, legal, political, and ethical controversies surrounding the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the early twenty­first century. It covers both domestic and international policy. The course is divided into several parts. Part I, AIDS in the Courtroom, covers the major court cases related to HIV/AIDS in the United States. These cases demonstrate the social impact of AIDS– the effect of litigation on social institutions, constitutional law, and interpersonal relationships. Part II, Rights and Dignity, examines the role of international human rights, privacy, and discrimination. Part III, Policy, Politics, and Ethics, covers the most contentious debates of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, including testing, named reporting, and civil and criminal confinement. Part IV, Special Populations, covers the rights and obligations of groups at heightened risk or identified as having special responsibilities, including perpetrators and survivors of sexual assaults, HIV­infected health care workers, perinatal transmission of HIV, and injection drug users. The final Part, AIDS in the World, examines the central issues of HIV/AIDS in the world: the absence of political leadership, the international trade system which militates against access to affordable treatment in poor countries, and the ethics of international collaborative research. The AIDS pandemic has reached deeply into all major spheres of modern life–e.g., law, medicine, economics, and politics. The pandemic has transformed society and restructured ethical values. This course provides an account of the major themes of the pandemic during the last two decades and offers an analysis of contemporary and future policy.

Students may not receive credit for this seminar and the course, AIDS Law and Ethics.

WEEK ONE COURSE. This seminar will meet for one week only on the following days: Monday, January 10, 2011, through Friday, January 14, 2011, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. This course is mandatory pass/fail and will count toward the 7 credit pass/fail limit for J.D. students. Note: Attendance at all class sessions is mandatory and all enrolled students must attend the first class in order to remain enrolled. Students on the wait list must attend the first class in order to be admitted off the wait list. Enrolled students will have until Monday, January 10, 2011, 5:00 p.m. to drop this course.