218.01 Comparative Law

This course is designed to introduce students to the basic paradigms and methods of comparative law. It highlights two core paradigms—civil law vs. common law and liberal law vs. authoritarian law—while also taking an interdisciplinary approach to comparative law. The ultimate purpose is to train students to conduct research in this field. This course requires class participation (15%), short response papers (15%), and a research paper (70%), which will count for two writing credits for JD/LLM-ICL students and, with instructor approval, may be used to fulfill the SRWP degree requirement for JD students.

Fall 2025

Course Number Course Credits Evaluation Method Instructor
218.01
3
Research and/or analytical paper
Class participation
Shitong Qiao
Canvas site: https://canvas.duke.edu/courses/65574
Course
Degree Requirements
JD SRWP, option
JD elective
IntllLLM International Cert
IntlLLM-SJD-EXC elective
IntlLLM writing
LLM-ICL (JD) required
LLM-ICL (JD) writing, option
Course Areas of Practice
International and Comparative Law
Law, Democracy, and Society