PROFESSOR AMY GAUDION ORGANIZES NATIONAL SECURITY LAW WORKSHOP
November 2023 — In her role as Chair of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Section on National Security Law, Professor Amy C. Gaudion recently facilitated a workshop she organized on “Teaching National Security Law.” The AALS Section on National Security Law is focused on providing initiatives aimed at broadening the reach of the Section to welcome new members, particularly members from groups and perspectives that have been historically underrepresented or outright excluded from the field of national security law.
According to Professor Gaudion, “The field of national security law is one that lacks a classic black letter law doctrinal structure. It is a field that is currently experiencing tectonic shifts in coverage and substance in the post-War on Terror era. It also, at times, has been a field and discipline that has been under-inclusive, if not alienating, to diverse groups of students, teachers, and scholars. In light of these considerations, legal educators (both experienced and new teachers) might be significantly challenged when called to prepare a course or seminar on national security law or a related topic. This workshop was designed to unpack these challenges and to equip legal educators with the pedagogical tools, analytical frameworks, and skills to effectively navigate and explore these important topics with their students.”
Session topics included Deciding What to Cover (and Omit) in a National Security Law Course with Emily Berman of the University of Houston Law Center, Jeffrey Kahn of SMU Dedman School of Law, and Shirin Sinnar of Stanford Law School; Creating Engaged Classroom Environments and Effective Assessments with Amy Gaudion of Penn State Dickinson Law and Asaf Lubin of Indiana University Bloomington Maurer School of Law; Bringing the Practice of National Security Law into the Classroom with Dakota Rudesill of the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law; and a final session on Building a National Security Law Teaching Community.
Amy C. Gaudion is an associate professor of law at Penn State Dickinson Law as well as the founder of Dickinson Law’s annual cyberspace simulation with the U.S. Army War College. Her scholarship focuses on national security law, cyberspace, and civilian-military relations, and she leads Dickinson Law’s national security and cyberspace programs.