On Friday, February 15, 2013, a delegation of visitors from Iraq joined Professors Wayne McCormack and Alexander Skibine for a discussion of the legislative process under the federal system of government and the role of the media in influencing public policy in America. The delegation of visitors consisted of members of the Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament and the Iraqi Council of Representatives and has travelled across the country as part of the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program. Their visit to Salt Lake City was coordinated through the Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy.
During their visit to the S.J. Quinney College of Law, the delegation of visitors was particularly interested in discussing the role of the media in ensuring transparency in the American political and legal systems, as well as the roles of lobbyists and civil society. The conversation touched briefly on the subjects of water rights and violence against women as examples of hot-button political topics in multiple cultures. Additionally, the delegation was interested in learning more about the structure and pedagogy of the legal classroom setting in American law schools, in particular the interaction and exchange between faculty and students. Professors McCormack and Skibine were able to illustrate our law school’s current innovations in legal education by showing a recent class recording of Professor Michael Teter’s Constitutional Law course and engaging the delegation of visitors in a discussion of the pedagogical value of dynamic learning environments.
The College of Law looks forward to coordinating with the Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy to host similar events with future delegations.