Law and culture intertwined

Law and culture intertwined

May 6, 2015
Italian and American students partner in comparative employment law course

Dillon Taylor, L’16, transferred to the University of Richmond School of Law last year for one key reason: to participate in Professor Ann Hodges’ courses. “She’s really well known in the labor law and employment law arena,” said Taylor. Hodges’ new class on comparative employment law, offered in the Spring 2015 semester, was a natural fit for him, as well as for 12 other students at Richmond Law. But this course has a unique twist: It is jointly taught by Hodges and Maurizio Del Conte, associate professor in the department of law at Bocconi University in Milan, Italy – a UR partner university. “We have a joint class, essentially, in two different places, two different countries, two different continents,” explained Hodges.

The set-up and process for the class are straightforward: Students gather in a central classroom at the same time in Milan and Richmond. Each classroom is fitted with audio visual equipment, allowing one class to reach out to the other using a high speed Internet connection. The students in each class can see each other in real time, through video projected on a screen, and join in live conversation. The classes are taught in English, with a curriculum created by Del Conte and Hodges. Both professors grade their own students. It’s a concept known in the academic world as COIL – Collaborative Online International Learning – and this is the first such course taught at Richmond Law.

In the final project, American and Italian students partnered together to address a specific topic related to an imagined international merger, based loosely on the 2014 pairing of Fiat and Chrysler. Each team addressed a particular part of that merger – from consideration of trade unions to issues of discrimination in employment. “We want the students to have the opportunity to work together as much as possible,” said Hodges. “One of the exciting things about this for the students is that interaction with their fellow students in another country.”

“The biggest takeaway is just seeing the United States employment law from a different perspective,” said Taylor. One example: the United States’ “at-will” employment policy, meaning that in most workplaces, the employer can dismiss an employee for any reason. “That’s just mind blowing to people from Europe,” said Hodges.

Teaching simultaneously on two continents had a few logistical challenges, such as snow days and different spring breaks.  Technical glitches, though, were few and far between. And one thing that did not prove to be an obstacle was the language difference. The Italian students were “amazing,” said Hodges. “I was so impressed with how well they spoke English.” That fluency contributed to the ease of discussion throughout the semester, allowing students on both sides of the Atlantic to work together and ask questions.

Both professors plan to continue to offer the course for the Fall 2015 semester, using the lessons learned during this first session of classes to build and improve on the existing curriculum, and to facilitate international connections. Another class of law students will have the benefit of what Hodges described as one of the key values of the course: “Understanding how much law is intertwined with culture and history.”