Summer I 2025
Professor(s):
Renee Knake Jefferson (FACULTY)
Credits: 3
Course Areas: Law And Society/ Interdisciplinary
Constitutional and Criminal Law
Time: AsynchDistanceEd Location:
Course Outline: This seminar exposes students to theories of leadership and examines pipelines to power within the legal profession and beyond. The seminar focuses less on “how” to be a leader and more on the structural paths followed by those who succeed in leadership roles with an eye toward reforms. Students will develop a rich understanding of the importance of storytelling to inform and persuade, and they will acquire knowledge of numerous transformative leaders in law and other professions. Students will develop competency in research/scholarly writing while working collaboratively with their peers and presenting their ideas. Students will produce a high-quality scholarly research paper that may fulfill the UHLC writing requirement. Additionally, students will receive guidance about how to potentially publish their research as an op-ed, trade publication essay, or scholarly article.
Course Syllabus: Syllabus
Course Notes: (Asynchronous Online) The UH registration system instruction mode for this course is listed in parenthesis. Some student materials may not be available online, such as an assigned casebook. Any assessment for the course, such as a final examination or a mid-term exam, will be conducted without the need to physically come to the Law Center, such as, for example, via the EBB portal as a take home exam or under remote proctoring.
Quota=12
The course will be taught in a fully asynchronous format, with the exception of one in-person meeting on Monday June 2, 2025 from 6-9 PM via Zoom. (For students with a conflict at that time, please contact Professor Knake Jefferson via email at rknake@central.uh.edu)
Prerequisites:
First Day Assignments:
Final Exam Schedule:
This course will have:
Exam:
Paper:
Satisfies Senior Upper Level Writing Requirement: Yes
Experiential Course Type: No
Bar Course: No
DistanceEd ABA: Yes
Pass-Fail Student Election: Unavailable (Instructor Preference)
Course Materials
Book(s) Required
Course Materials: (1) the casebook Jefferson & Johnson, Leadership, Law, and Pipelines to Power (West Academic 2023) (ISBN: 9781685610692) (“LLP”) – use the code WAHOUSTON for a 15% discount + free shipping –and (2) the biography/autobiography of a leader of your choice (suggestions appear in the Appendix of LLP but you are not limited to those options). Registration with TWEN is also mandatory.
