Leading national scholars to teach special term in January at UH Manoa Law School

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
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Posted: Dec 29, 2006

HONOLULU — The William S. Richardson School of Law announces its special January Term (J-Term) 4-week course program, from Jan. 8 to Jan. 27, 2007, in which Hawaiʻi‘s law students will have the unique opportunity to be taught specialized mini-courses by leading national scholars from around the country. Five visiting scholars, professors from Harvard, Yale, Seattle and Arizona State, and a Senior Judge with the Second Circuit Federal Court of Appeals, will offer courses in the realms of international legal studies, intellectual property law, comparative indigenous rights, and race and justice.

"We are particularly grateful to host these great scholars who come to the Law School and help us continue our longstanding tradition of excellence throughout our curriculum," said Law School Dean Avi Soifer. "This new program, now in its third year, offers a tremendous opportunity for students and for everyone at the Law School and throughout the community to get to know and to learn directly from world renowned scholars who are still wonderfully accessible."

Professor Jack Balkin from Yale Law School will teach the course "The Internet & Information Society." Balkin is a Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment at the Yale Law School. He is well-known for his weblog: Balkinization (http://balkin.blogspot.com/) as well as for numerous books and treatises ranging from "Cultural Software: A Theory of Ideology" and "The Laws of Change: I Ching and the Philosophy of Life" to numerous constitutional law commentaries. Balkin received a PhD in philosophy from Cambridge University and both his AB and JD from Harvard University. In addition to his many accomplishments and scholarly works, Balkin is the founder and director of the Information Society Project at Yale, an interdisciplinary center that studies law and the new information technologies.

Professor Margaret Chon, a Dean‘s Distinguished Scholar at Seattle University School of Law, will teach "Globalization & Intellectual Property." Chon is the director of the Seattle University Center for the Study of Justice in Society. She recently also has been a visiting professor at the University of Washington School of Law, Jilin University School of Law in Changchun, China, the University of Pittsburgh Semester at Sea program and the William S. Richardson School of Law. She is also a prolific scholar writing primarily about race and law, and is a frequent speaker at national and local conferences emphasizing the social dimensions in each of her areas of inquiry. Before joining Seattle University, she was a tenured faculty at the Syracuse University College of Law. Chon is a graduate of Cornell University and holds both a masters degree in public health and a law degree from the University of Michigan. She served as a staff attorney for the Federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals from 1986-88, and then clerked for Judge A. Leon Higginbotham on that Circuit.

Professor Randall Kennedy from Harvard Law School will teach the course "The Racial Politics of Loyalty and Disloyalty." Kennedy is this year‘s Frank Boas Scholar 2007 at the William S. Richardson School of Law. He has been a professor of law at Harvard Law School for more than 20 years and recently was named the Michael R. Klein Professor of Law since 2005. He is a premier scholar in the areas of racial equality, politics and society, who has published several nationally acclaimed books and many articles. Kennedy received degrees from Princeton University, Oxford University and Yale Law School. He clerked for Judge J. Skelly Wright on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall during the Court‘s 1983 term.

Senior Federal Judge Jon O. Newman of the Second Circuit Federal Court of Appeals will teach about "The Concept of Reasonableness." Newman has served on the federal bench for more than 35 years. He has been a Second Circuit judge since 1979, and was Chief Judge for four years after serving for more than seven years as a United States District Judge in Connecticut. Newman chaired numerous committees within the federal judiciary and has been a consultant to judiciaries in China, Eastern Europe and Israel. He has taught law for many years, given named lectures throughout the country, written extensively, and is the recipient of numerous awards, including four honorary degrees. Newman is also the co-author of the recent "A Genealogical Chart of Greek Mythology". He attended Princeton University and Yale Law School, and clerked for Judge George T. Washington of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and for Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren during the Court‘s 1956 Term.

Professor Rebecca Tsosi from Arizona State University Law School will teach the course "Indigenous Rights & Federalism." Tsosi has served as executive director of the top ranked Indian Legal Program in the Sandra Day O‘Connor College of Law at Arizona State University since 1996. Tsosi, who is of Yaqui descent, has published widely on doctrinal and theoretical issues related to tribal sovereignty, environmental policy and cultural rights. She has received numerous awards, including the 2006 recipient of the "Judge Learned Hand Award for Public Service" from the American Bar Association. Tsosi received her bachelor‘s and law degrees from the University of California at Los Angeles.

J-Term faculty will also participate in a number of outreach events and symposiums with local lawyers and with the community-at-large during this time.