Faculty Conversation: Elaine Chiu on the Cultural Differential in Parental Autonomy
Today's guest is Professor Elaine Chiu of St. John's University School of Law. She will be talking with UB Law Professor Susan Vivian Mangold about her current paper, "The Cultural Differential in Parental Autonomy."The theme music is Baja Taxi by Brain Buckit, and is available through the Podsafe Music Network. Join us again next time for another faculty conversation from University at Buffalo Law School.
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Summary of Paper
The increasing cultural diversity of our country is to be celebrated for many reasons; however, it does present a challenge to our society and to the laws that govern us. This challenge lies in the fact that while the composition of the American populace is changing, the laws governing the populace are not. When the laws of a community reflect only one culture while many of its members are from other cultures, the conflict is inevitable, intense and of particular import. This conflict arises in numerous legal contexts but when the conflict occurs with the laws regulating the parent-child relationship, the consequences are tremendous. First, parental practices and decisions of parents from minority cultures are scrutinized, regulated and punished to a greater degree than the practices and decisions of parents from the dominant culture. Second, laws on parenting can learn a lesson from the discipline of social psychology. Social psychologists study the interactions of humans from different cultures and develop principles through which such interactions can be improved. Chiu concludes by proposing the mandatory application of the concept of cultural mindfulness in child welfare law.
Professor Chiu's recent scholarship has focused on the challenge that multiculturalism poses to the law in a diverse nation such as the United States. She has written two articles that specifically address how the substantive criminal law should answer this challenge. The first article entitled Culture in Our Midst appeared in the Summer 2006 issue of the University of Florida Journal of Law and Public Policy. The second article entitled Culture As Justification, Not Excuse appeared in the October 2006 issue of the American Criminal Law Review. Professor Chiu teaches Criminal Law and Family Law at St. John's University School of Law. A selection of her papers is available at the Social Science Research Network (SSRN).
