The Faculty Lounge

Crashes

Surprisingly many musicians have died in plane crashes, including some who are less well known than the stars.

CFP: 150th Anniversary of Minor v. Happersett - the Past and Future of Women's Rights

This just in:

On Friday September 27, the Washington University Law Review is hosting a Symposium on the 150^th anniversary of Minor v. Happersett, the case in which the Supreme Court held that women were not enfranchised by the Fourteenth Amendment's Privileges or Immunities Clause. We're casting a wide net for potential paper topics, and they can range from Reconstruction-era history, 20^th century history on women's civil/political rights, feminist theory, and post-Dobbs developments. Abstracts are due by Friday June 14. Please see below for the Call for Papers. This symposium is primarily run by the students, but Professor Susan Appleton and Hannah Keidan are serving as faculty co-advisors, and they would be happy to answer any questions that you may have.

The 150th Anniversary of Minor v. Happersett:

The Past and Future of Women's Rights

Washington University School of Law

September 27, 2024

Call for Papers

Abstract Submission Deadline: June 14

The Washington University School of Law and the Washington University Law Review will host a Symposium centered on the 150th anniversary of the historic St. Louis case, Minor v. Happersett, on September 27, 2024. (The 150th anniversary will align with the subsequent publishing of the Law Review's Symposium edition as Volume 6 of Issue 102 the following spring.)

 

New Book Announcement - Cahn, Carbone & Levit, Fair Shake: Women and the Fight to Build a Just Economy

Today is the publication date of the
Simon & Schuster book Fair Shake: Women and the Fight to Build a Just Economy, a new work by Naomi Cahn (Virginia), June Carbone (Minnesota), and Nancy Levit (UMKC). Here is the description:

A stirring, comprehensive look at the state of women in the workforce—why women’s progress has stalled, how our economy fosters unproductive competition, and how we can fix the system that holds women back.

In an era of supposed great equality, women are still falling behind in the workplace. Even with more women in the workforce than in decades past, wage gaps continue to increase. It is the most educated women who have fallen the furthest behind. Blue-collar women hold the most insecure and badly paid jobs in our economy. And even as we celebrate high-profile representation—women on the board of Fortune 500 companies and our first female vice president—women have limited recourse when they experience harassment and discrimination.

Fair Shake: Women and the Fight to Build a Just Economy explains that the system that governs our economy—a winner-take-all economy—is the root cause of these myriad problems. The WTA economy self-selects for aggressive, cutthroat business tactics, which creates a feedback loop that sidelines women. The authors, three legal scholars, call this feedback loop “the triple bind”: if women don’t compete on the same terms as men, they lose; if women do compete on the same terms as men, they’re punished more harshly for their sharp elbows or actual misdeeds; and when women see that they can’t win on the same terms as men, they take themselves out of the game (if they haven’t been pushed out already). With odds like these stacked against them, it’s no wonder women feel like, no matter how hard they work, they can’t get ahead.

Fair Shake is not a “fix the woman” book; it’s a “fix the system” book. It not only diagnoses the problem of what's wrong with the modern economy, but shows how, with awareness and collective action, we can build a truly just economy for all.

The book is available at the usual places as well as some independent book stores (directory here). If you are so inclined, consider purchasing from a women-owned bookstore, too (directory here).

S. Todd Brown Named Dean of Buffalo Law

University of Buffalo School of Law has announced that S. Todd Brown will be its next dean.  He is currently serving as the interim dean and has been a professor at the law school since 2009.  Brown, who holds a JD Columbia from will take over on May 9.

ALI Elects New Members

I'm a little late with this news, but in December, 2023, the American Law Institute elected new members. Among the group are these faculty members at U.S. law schools:

• Derek W. Black, University of South Carolina School of Law
• Josh Bowers, University of Virginia School of Law
• Sergio J. Campos, Boston College Law School
• Pamela Foohey, Yeshiva University, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (moving to University of Georgia)
• Mark Geistfeld, New York University School of Law
• Jasmine E. Harris, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
• Thomas Healy, Seton Hall University School of Law
• Michael J. Higdon, University of Tennessee College of Law
• Jessie Hill, Case Western Reserve University School of Law
• Rebecca Ingber, Yeshiva University, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
• Sophia Lee, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
• Jon D. Michaels, University of California, Los Angeles School of Law
• Cedric Merlin Powell, University of Louisville, Brandeis School of Law
• Carla L. Reyes, Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law
• Shannon M. Roesler, University of Iowa College of Law
• Joanna C. Schwartz, University of California, Los Angeles School of Law
• Joshua S. Sellers, University of Texas School of Law
• Jason P. Steed, University of Kentucky, J. David Rosenberg College of Law
• Madhavi Sunder, Georgetown University Law Center

The ALI’s announcement is here. Congratulations to all.

Aviva Abramovsky Named Dean of Idaho Law

University of Idaho College of Law has announced that Aviva Abramovsky will be its next dean.  She is currently professor of law and former dean at the University of Buffalo School of Law.  Abramovsky, who holds a JD from Penn, will take over on June 10.