Legal Studies Monthly Newsletter

September, 2022

Welcome Note from Rosalind Kabrhel, Chair of the Legal Studies Program

Sept Trivia Question!

Guess right and you can win lunch with Daniel Breen and a surprise guest!

Dear Students, Alumni, and Friends:

Welcome to the 2022-23 academic year! It is wonderful to see students back on campus, and we were delighted to meet so many new students at the academic fair earlier this month. Please visit us in our new (temporary) home on the second floor of Kutz Hall, and join us in the Kutz Hall conference room on September 22nd from 9:00 - 11:00 am for coffee and bagels at our Meet the Minor event.

In this, our first newsletter of the year we share some exciting developments in our program, and celebrate the accomplishments of our students, faculty, and alumni. We also share opportunities for students to get involved in law-related activities outside of the classroom. If you have anything you would like to contribute to a future newsletter, please email our student assistant, Lesedi Lerato, whose hard work makes this newsletter possible. Thank you Lesedi!

- Rosalind Kabrhel, Chair, Legal Studies Program

Name at least one 20th century heavyweight boxing champion who shared a last name

with a present or past Supreme Court justice...

The first 3 students who submit the right answer will be invited to the faculty club for a lunch with Prof. Dan Breen and surprise guest!

Submit Guess Here!

Community Shout-outs:

Congratulations Professor Sarah Curi, JD, MPH!!

This summer, Sarah Curi (LGLS/HSSP) was promoted to Associate Professor of the Practice. She holds the title in addition to her roles as HSSP Undergraduate Advising Head and HSSP Study Abroad Liaison.

Professor Daniel Breen, J.D., PhD. Wins MHA Star Award!

Dr. Dan Breen received the MHA Star Award for innovative programming and long-term contributions to history, as well as equity and justice in public history at the Somerville Museum and Brandeis University. MHA STAR Awards for excellence in local or exemplary work in the field of local and public history in Massachusetts recognized as long-term commitment, outstanding work with concrete results, exemplary innovation, local leadership for change, or contributions to equity and justice.

Listen to Dr. Dan Breen’s recent talk at the Somerville. The Most Glorious Fourth: ‘President Taft Comes to Somerville, July Fourth 1910.

We love highlighting the great work of the students in our program, if there is anyone you would like to give a shout-out, please email at legalstudies@brandeis.edu. The more the merrier!

Want a closer look?

Highlighting Alum Jenna Moser

Employment Discrimination Attorney at Bunker & Ray

Jenna Moser Mathias 15', found the law, love, and so much more...

Jenna Moser is a lot of things. A mother, a first gen Indian-American, and an avid football fan. But one thing she never thought she would be is a lawyer. Jenna Moser was brought to Brandeis by chance, a free application in the mail. Raised by a single mom in an insular Rhode Island town, Moser fostered a spirit of self-determination and hard work from a young age. Moser made stellar grades in high school, she was a star in mock trial. And despite everyone saying she should be a lawyer when she grows up, (except her grandpa who still tries to give Moser MCAT prep books to this day), Moser had always known she wanted to be a doctor. However things didn't go according to plan… “the sciences at Brandeis were an entirely different beast”....

Congratulations to the Summer 2022 Jane Kahn '77 Undergraduate Research Fellow!

The Jane Kahn '77 Undergraduate Research Fellowship supports undergraduates examining current and emerging issues in criminal justice reform and the rights of individuals with mental illness, disability, and socio-psychological factors frequently associated with incarceration. This year’s repentant is Natalie Omori-Hoffe, '25. Their research project is entitled A Comparative Case Analysis of the Institutional Betrayal and Harms Between Inpatient Psychiatric Hospitals and Prisons

Proposals are now being accepted for Spring 2023 Kahn Fellows! Read more here. To submit a proposal, please contact Melissa McKenna, Program Administrator for Legal Studies.

Recent & Upcoming Events:

Legal Studies Program "Meet the Minor"

This semester's Meet the Minor event will take place on September 22, 2022 from 9:00 am - 11:00 am in the Kutz Conference Room (third floor Kutz Hall).

Brandeis Educational Justice Initiative Reading Group

"Are you interested in carceral justice? The (BEJI) hosts a monthly reading group for anyone interested in learning and discussing carceral issues. Readings include memoir, legal analysis, poetry, art criticism, political theory, history, etc. and are chosen by different members of the group. Please sign up here to join our Reading Group mailing list so you can register/attend events.

On Friday, October 21 at 12:00PM, Loyola School of Law is hosting a Zoom webinar entitled "Public Health and the Epidemic of Incarceration: An intersectional Analysis." which will examine expose how laws, policies, and practices before, during, and after confinement compound racialized and gendered health vulnerabilities, risks, and outcomes. Read more here. Students interested in participating as a group should email Prof. Rosalind Kabrhel.

Creative Writing Reading Series: Porsha Olayiwola

September 21, 2022

5:30 - 6:30 pm

Pearlman Lounge - snacks served!

Boston Poet Laureate Porsha Olayiwola is the current Brandeis Jacob Ziskind Poet in Residence. Olayiwola is a writer, performer, educator, and curator who uses afro-futurism and surrealism to examine historical and current issues in the Black, woman, and queer diasporas. She is an Individual World Poetry Slam Champion and the founder of the Roxbury Poetry Festival.

This event is made possible by the Grossbardt Memorial Fund.

New and Exciting Courses:

LGLS 122B — Indigenous Rights, Environmental Justice, and Federal Indian Law by Professor James Pollack

Provides a look at the intersection of indigenous rights, environmental justice, and federal Indian law. Through in-class discussion, cases, and reading you will learn about conflicts over land use, climate change, and sovereignty. The course will be organized into weekly case studies where we will study contemporary and historical conflicts including: the Dakota Access pipeline, relocation due to sea level rise, fishing rights and dam removal, water rights in the face of drought, uranium mining, and Native Nation regulation of oil and gas extraction on reservation lands.

ANTH 126a: United States Policing in Context: Past, Present and Future by Kay Fellow Ariel Ludwig

An interdisciplinary analysis of policing in the United States, which considers policing narratives, training, culture, representation, and technology. Case studies include Black Lives Matter protests and the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. Theoretical frameworks utilized include anthropology of power, critical race theory, and criminal justice.

Arts, Culture & Literature Recommendations:

Alito, Alice & the Dobbs Opinion

Yemen in the Shadow of Transition: Pursuing Justice Amid War

Book by Stacey Philbrick Yadav

Responding to a diplomatic stalemate and a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, Yemen's civil actors work every day to build peace in fragmented local communities across the country. This book shows how their efforts relate to longstanding justice demands in Yemeni society, and details three decades of alternating elite indifference toward, or strategic engagement with, questions of justice.

Law & Society Series at the Brandeis University Press

Brandeis University Press and the Brandeis Legal Studies Program at Brandeis University are pleased to announce a new book series - the Brandeis Series in Law and Society. This series is edited by Rosalind Kabrhel J.D. and Daniel Breen, J.D. Ph.D. and will publish books that take an interdisciplinary approach to the law with a view towards shedding light on the variety of ways in which legal rules and the institutions that enforce them affect our lives. On Oct. 12th, 2021 we celebrated the launch of the book series by having a conversation with the author Jan Nisbet and the co-founder of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network Ari Ne'eman. Last spring we celebrated the release of When Freedom Speaks by Lynn Greenky.

Submit your scholarly work to be included in the next edition!