Curriculum Guide · Courses

Professor Rachel Taylor

J.D. Practicum 034 (cross-listed) | 5 credit hours (year long)

This year-long experiential seminar is designed to support students participating in the Human Rights Institute/Georgetown Human Rights Action fact-finding project. These projects give students an opportunity to work as human rights investigators—researching a human rights problem in depth, conducting extensive interviews on the subject, drafting a comprehensive report on their findings, and engaging in related advocacy. Through this course, students will gain the substantive background and skills needed to carry out this work. Each year, Georgetown Human Rights Action and the Human Rights Institute identify a new topic on which to focus. In 2011-2012, the selected topic is Vulnerable Children and the School to Prison Pipeline. In the fall, the weekly seminar will cover the substantive law and policy relating to this subject, as well as fact-finding skills and methodology. In January 2012, we will travel as a group to conduct interviews on this subject. In the spring, students will draft a final report and engage in advocacy surrounding their findings; there will be seven 2-hour class sessions to guide students through these processes and students will be expected to have their own meetings during non-class weeks. Over the year, students will be expected to devote an additional 165 hours outside of class to this project; all students must submit a record of this time. Grading for all credits will occur at the end of the spring semester.

Recommended: International Human Rights.

Students may not concurrently enroll in this seminar and a clinic (except Street Law) or another practicum course. Students may concurrently enroll in this seminar and an externship.

Professor permission is required. Students who wish to receive credit for the Externship Seminar and an experiential learning course that has the same field placement may do so only if: (1) the experiential learning course is taken in a semester following the Externship Seminar; and (2) the student receives permission from the Assistant or the Associate Dean for Clinical Programs. To receive such permission, the student must explain in writing how the experiential learning course field work would serve substantially different learning goals than did their externship field placement. THIS IS AN EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING COURSE. This is a 5 credit course. Two credits will be awarded for the 2-hour weekly seminar in the fall; 1 credit for the field work in the fall semester; 1 credit for the seven class sessions in the spring semester; and 1 credit for the field work in the spring semester. The seminar portion will be graded. The 2 credits of field work are mandatory pass/fail and count toward the 7 credit pass/fail limit. THIS COURSE REQUIRES PROFESSOR PERMISSION TO ENROLL. Interested students should send a statement of interest and resume to Professor Rachel Taylor (rst@law.georgetown.edu) and Human Rights Institute Fellow Jennifer Hojaiban (jh365@law.georgetown.edu) by 5:00 pm on Friday, April 29, 2011. Admitted students will be informed in mid to late May.