Karen Struening

Professor Struening began teaching at City College in 2006. She is the department's pre-law advisor and is Director of the Skadden Arps Honors Program in Legal Studies. She also served on the board of the Council on Contemporary Families from 2006 to 2009.

Ph.D. Boston University, 1992

21200: Constitutional Law, The Federal System Survey of the historical and political role of the Supreme Court, focusing on leading decisions. These deal with central problems of judicial review and democracy, the federal system, and the scope and limits of congressional and presidential power. (W) 3 hr./wk.; 3 cr.

21300: Constitutional Law, Individual Liberties The conflicts between majority rule and minority rights in leading Supreme Court decisions. Major attention to the more recent decisions concerning freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and other civil liberties, as well as social legislation and regulation of business. Prereq.: Pol Sci 21200 or permission of the instructor. (W) 3 hr./wk.; 3 cr.

22000: The Judiciary How courts function in the political system. Examination of the motivations of judges, the social and cultural contexts of courtroom behavior, and role of the judiciary in policy-making. (W) 3 hr./wk.; 3 cr.

Professor Struening's research interests combine law, policy and political theory, with a particular emphasis on rights, sexuality and family. She has published articles on these topics in Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Studies, Women and Politics and Political Research Quarterly.

New Family Values: Liberty, Equality, and Diversity (Rowman & Littlefield, 2002).

"Do Government Sponsored Marriage Promotion Policies Place Undue Pressure on Individual Rights?," Policy Sciences 40(3) (September 2007). 

"Families 'In Law' and Families 'In Practice': Does the Law Recognize Families As They Really Are?," in Barbara J. Risman ed., Families As They Really Are (W.W. Norton, 2010.

"Looking for Liberty and Defining Marriage in Three Same-Sex Marriage Cases," in Gordon A. Babst, Emily R. Gill, and Jason Pierceson eds., Moral Argument, Religion, and Same-sex Marriage (Lexington, 2009).