LEGAL 391F – Law & the Family: Who has traditionally had the right to parent, and what has been the role of ideology in defining the “American family”? What are some of the contemporary issues in American family law addressed by legal scholars, practicing lawyers, judges, legislators and policy analysts? How have changing social patterns affected marriage and parenting arrangements? We will discuss recent developments that have redefined “the traditional American family”: divorce, single parenting, gay and lesbian parenting, international and transracial adoption, and new reproductive technologies that have changed the very meaning of parenthood.
