Jane Larson

Jane Larson (1958 - 2011) was the Voss-Bascom Professor of Law at the University of Wisconsin Law School.[1]

Life and work

Born in Omaha, Nebraska,[2] Larson was a Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude graduate of Macalester College and a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School, where she was a member of the Order of the Coif and Articles Editor of the Journal of Law and Inequality.[1] After working as a law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, Larson worked as an associate for a Washington DC law firm.[1] In 1990 Larson joined the faculty of Northwestern University Law School, where she twice won the Robert Childs award for excellence in teaching.[3] While at Northwestern, Larson developed her theory of “sexual fraud” – “intentional lies made for the express purpose of gaining sexual consent that would otherwise have been withheld,” in Larson’s words [4] – as a tort for which people could sue if they suffered damages such as sexually transmitted diseases.[5] Her Columbia Law Review article, “Women Understand So Little, They Call My Good Nature 'Deceit'": A Feminist Rethinking of Seduction” ”[6] was widely acclaimed within the fields of legal theory [7][8] and feminist thought.[9] Larson joined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1996.[1] In 1999, Oxford University Press published her book, “Hard Bargains: The Politics of Sex,”,[10] co-authored with Linda Hirshman. The book offered a critical analysis of the power dynamics involved in heterosexual sex, a theme echoed in Larson’s scholarly work on the legal histories of prostitution, rape and sexual harassment.[11] Other notable areas of scholarship included her participation in amicus briefs for Webster v. Reproductive Health Services and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, supporting reproductive rights[12] and her analysis of the legal rights of residents of the colonia settlements on the U.S. Mexico border.[13] Larson died at her home in Madison, Wisconsin.[14]

Larson was controversial, occasionally abrasive, and denied tenure at Northwestern despite the law school's recommendation in favor of tenure.[15] Larson taught law in an unorthodox way, stressing the social, cultural, historical, and philosophical dimensions of legal outcomes[16] She was active in the Association of American Law Schools.[17]

Influence

Larson influenced her students to rethink concepts such as property, free speech, and gender,[18] and she had an international following.[19]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "University of Wisconsin - Faculty Profile". Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  2. "Larson Jane E". Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  3. "Robert Childres Award List". Northwestern Law School. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  4. Larson, Jane (5 October 1993). "Sex, Lies and The Right to Sue". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  5. Pollock, Ellen Joan (4 July 1993). "Broken Eros: Suing For `Sexual Fraud'". Seattle Times. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  6. Larson, Jane E. (March 1993). ""Women Understand So Little, They Call My Good Nature 'Deceit'": A Feminist Rethinking of Seduction". Columbia Law Review 93 (2): 374–472. doi:10.2307/1123051. JSTOR 1123051?.
  7. Brophy, Alfred. "Jane Larson (1958-2011)". The Faculty Lounge. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  8. Doniger, Wendy. "Carnal Ignorance". Fathom. University of Chicago. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  9. Hirshman, Linda & Jane E. Larson (1999). Hard Bargains: The Politics of Sex. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195134209.
  10. McLean, Sara (1999). "Confided to His Care or Protection". Columbia Journal of Gender & Law 9 (47). Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  11. Hirshman, Linda. "In Memory of Jane Larson 1958-2011". Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  12. Johnson, Kevin. "Professor Jane Larson RIP". Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  13. "University of Wisconsin Law School Mourns the Loss of Professor Jane Larson". Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  14. http://vimeo.com/34415858
  15. http://althouse.blogspot.com/2011/12/university-of-wisconsin-law-school-is.html
  16. http://www.law.umn.edu/news/remembering-scholar-and-teacher-jane-larson-1-3-2012.html
  17. http://prawfsblawg.blogs.com/prawfsblawg/2011/12/rip-jane-larson.html
  18. http://www.intlawgrrls.com/2011/12/in-passing-jane-larson.html


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