Oxford Study Abroad
Summer in Oxford Program
Academic Program
Classes
Five different courses will be offered, each with a class size of approximately 35 students. Students enrolled in the program may choose any combination of the five courses and earn up to six semester hours of credit. The academic program has been approved by the American Bar Association's Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, and credit is awarded by The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.
Comparative Legal Professions (3 semester hours)
This course examines the
legal professions in England and the United States. It examines the ways in
which services are delivered to clients in the two countries, and will challenge
commonly held assumptions about lawyers and the legal profession. Reference
also will be made to the comparative ethical requirements imposed upon
lawyers in the United States and England. The course will be taught by
Dr. Christopher Whelan who has taught legal profession courses in both Great
Britain and the United States, and serves as Associate Director, International Law
Programs, at the University of Oxford. This course may satisfy state bar or law
school requirements in professional responsibility. Students are advised,
however, to check their local requirements.
Comparative Famiily Law (3 semester hours)
This course will explore the
similarities and differences in the conceptualization and treatment of families
across legal systems. We will examine the regulation of marriage, domestic
partnerships, same-sex marriage, divorce, and reproductive rights. The course
also explores the relationship between children, parents, and the state with a
particular emphasis on custody, child abduction, corporal punishment, and the
financial support of children. We also will examine how international laws,
convention, and treaties, like the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of
Child Abduction, the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, have shaped the development of
domestic family law in individual nations. The course will be taught by Professor
Katherine Federle of The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.
Comparative Criminal Procedure (2 semester hours)
This course will
explore the major themes and theories of criminal procedure rules and
regulations in the United States, in the U.K. and in a few other countries
around the globe. Students will explore and compare the purposes driving
the criminal process in various countries. Among the topics to be a focus of
the course will be the importance and role of different procedures in truth-seeking, in the presumption of innocence, in the protection of the rights of
the accused and the involvement of victims and other nongovernmental
actors, and in promoting respect for the criminal justice system. The
course will be taught by Professor Douglas A. Berman of The Ohio State
University Moritz College of Law.
European Union Law (3 semester hours)
This course introduces the
institutional and constitutional framework of the European law in its
political, economic, and international context. It also examines the
economic objectives of the European Union, the role of law in achieving
those objectives, and the feasibility of law-based market integration. The
course will be taught by Dr. Christopher Whelan.
Comparative Sentencing and Punishment (1 semester hour)
This
course explores some of the major issues surrounding the administration of
criminal justice in England and the United States. The course focuses on
generic questions and deals with broad principles and general problems in
an effort to get students thinking about how law works as a means of social
control. It takes a socio-legal view, focusing on the key institutions of the
criminal justice system in both countries. The course will be taught by
Professor Keith Hawkins, who is currently professor emeritus of law and
society at the University of Oxford.
Guest Lectures
In addition to the regularly scheduled classes, the program features at least six lectures by prominent scholars in their respective fields. Topics of past lectures have included "Tony Blair's Domestic Policy Triumphs 1997-2007," "From Blair to Brown: British Foreign Policy in Flux," and "The Conservative Challenge: The Politics of David Cameron." The cost of these lectures is included in the program tuition.
Side Trips
The program also includes numerous educational and cultural side trips. Students will visit courts in London (including the Old Bailey), the English Inns of Court, and the Houses of Parliament. Trips also will be scheduled to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, Windsor Castle, and Runnymede. The cost of these trips is included in the program tuition.


