Alison Dundes Renteln

Tenure Track Appointments

• L.A. Institute for the Humanities, USC, 2018-2019
• Professor of Political Science and Anthropology, University of Southern California, 08/01/1987 –

Research, Teaching, Practice, and Clinical Appointments

• Visiting Lecturer, Political Science and Acting Director, Law and Society Program, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1986-1987

Visiting and Temporary Appointments

• Walter S. Owen and Douglas McK. Brown Visiting Chair in Law , University of British Columbia Law Faculty, 02/03/2014 – 02/14/2014
• Fellow, Stanford Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS), Fall 2013
• Fellow, Human Rights Consortium, School of Advanced Study, University of London, 04/21/2014 – 07/21/2014
• Visiting Scholar, Institute of Governmental Studies, University of California, Berkeley, 1996-1997

Other Employment

• Joint Appointment, Gould School of Law, 01/01/2012 –
• Fellow, USC Center for Public Diplomacy, 2012 –
• Joint Appointment, Sol Price School of Public Policy, 08/01/2011 –
• Affiliated Faculty Member in American Studies and Ethnicity, USC, 08/30/2009 –
• Distinguished Faculty Fellow, Center for Excellence in Teaching, 08/15/2005 –

Summary Statement of Research Interests

Professor Renteln studies international law, human rights, comparative legal systems, Constitutional law and legal and political theory. An expert on cultural rights, including the use of the “cultural defense” in the legal system. Professor Renteln has lectured to judicial organizations and law enforcement groups on this subject. She served on the State Bar Commission on Access to Justice and the California Judicial Council Access and Fairness Advisory Committee. She also served as a member of the California Attorney General’s Commission on Hate Crimes.

Research Keywords

international law, human rights, comparative law and comparative politcs, constitutional law, American politics, political and legal theory

Research Specialties

International Law, Human Rights, Comparative Law, Constitutional Law, Political and Legal Theory

Contracts and Grants Awarded

• Legal Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage, (Fulbright), Alison Dundes RENTELN, Validmar Hafstein, $0, 05/01/2022 – 05/21/2022

USC Funding

• Center for Feminist Research, New Directions. Violence against Women: Study of domestic implementation of international human rights standards to combat specific forms of violence against women., $5000, 2011-2012
• Shoah Foundation Faculty development stipend. International Human Rights: Incorporating testimonials into general education course, International Human Rights, $2500, 05/15/2011 – 08/15/2011

Conference Presentations

• Cross-cultural Justice , Florida Conference of District Court of Appeal JudgesRoundtable/Panel, District Court of Appeal Judges Association, Invited, Amelia Island, Florida, 09/13/2011 –
• Cultural Rights Lecture/Seminar, Human Rights Program, University of Siciliy, Invited, Palermo, Sicily, 05/03/2010 –
• Married Women’s Surnames Lecture/Seminar, Faculty of Law, Invited, Ottawa, 10/15/2022 – 10/17/2022
• The Appeal of the Extended Case Method , Constitutional EthnographyTalk/Oral Presentation, University of Alabama Law School, Invited, Tuscaloosa, 10/14/2022 – 10/15/2022
• The Appeal of the Extended Case Method , Constitutional EthnographyTalk/Oral Presentation, University of Alabama Law School, Invited, Tuscaloosa, 10/14/2022 – 10/15/2022
• Climate Justice Litigation , APSATalk/Oral Presentation, APSA, Invited, Montreal, 09/15/2022
• An Analysis of the Racial Hoax , Int’l Society for Contemporary LegendTalk/Oral Presentation, Society for Contemporary Legend Research, Invited, Ottawa, 07/10/2022 – 07/12/2022
• Participation in Global Cultural Heritage Governance , Int’l Law Association Biennial ConferenceRoundtable/Panel, International Law Association, Lisbon, 06/21/2022 – 06/23/2022
• Rebel Courts, Author meets Critics , Law and Society AssociationRoundtable/Panel, Law and Society Association, Invited, Lisbon, 06/16/2022 – 06/18/2022
• Rebel Courts, Author meets Critics , Law and Society AssociationRoundtable/Panel, Law and Society Association, Invited, Lisbon, 06/16/2022 – 06/18/2022
• Informed Consent in Research involving Indigenous Peopls , Law and Society AssociationTalk/Oral Presentation, Law and Society Association, Invited, Lisbon, 06/16/2022
• Changing Demographics in the 21st Century , 2015 Ninth Circuit Judicial ConferenceRoundtable/Panel, Ninth Circuit Judicial Council, Invited, San Diego, California, 07/14/2015
• The Right to Culture as a Human Right: Noise, Gender Violence, and the Cultural Defense Lecture/Seminar, University of Capetown Law School , Invited, Capetown, South Africa, 03/20/2014
• “Relying on Culture to Protect Human Rights: the fight against HIV/AIDS and the stigma associated with it”. , Health and Human RightsTalk/Oral Presentation, Shangdong University Law School and Dutch Foreign , Invited, Jinan, China, 10/15/2013 – 10/16/2013

Book

• Chen, C. (2022). International Human Rights: A Survey. New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Teays, W. (2022). The Ethical University: Transforming Higher Education. Lanham, Maryland. https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538154380/The-Ethical-University-Transforming-Higher-Education
• Teays, W., Renteln, A. D. (2020). Global Bioethics and Human Rights 2nd Ed. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
• Stein, N. (2017). Images and Human Rights: Local and Global Perspectives. (Nancy Stein and Alison Dundes Renteln, Ed.). Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Cambridge Scholars.
• Renteln, A. D. (2013). International Human Rights: Universalism Versus Relativism. Quid Pro.
• Renteln, A. D., Nafziger, J., Paterson, R. (2010). Cultural Law: International, Comparative, and Indigenous. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Foblets, M. C., Renteln, A. D. (2009). Multicultural Jurisprudence: Comparative Perspectives on the Cultural Defense. (Marie-Claire Foblets and Alison Dundes Renteln, Ed.). Oxford, U.K.: Hart Publishing.
• Renteln, A. D. (2005). The Cultural Defense (Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2005), Oxford University Press, 2004.

Book Chapters

• Renteln, A. D. (2022). Scandals and Historic Injustices. The Ethical University pp. 3-23. Rowman & LIttlefield. https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538154380/The-Ethical-University-Transforming-Higher-Education
• Renteln, A. D. (2022). The Cultural Defence. Oxford Handbook on Law and Anthropology pp. 455-474..
• Renteln, A. D. (2020). Judicial Policies to Facilitate the Consideration of Culture. Judicial Policies to Facilitate the Consideration pp. 19-33. Editoriale Scientifica.
• Renteln, A. D. (2020). Judicial Policies to Facilitate the Consideration of Culture. Judicial Policies to Facilitate the Consideration pp. 19-33. Editoriale Scientifica.
• Renteln, A. D. (2020). Gender Justice in the ICC. Intersections of Law and Culture at the Internati pp. 102-125. Edward Elgar. https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/usd/intersections-of-law-and-culture-at-the-international-criminal-court-9781839107290.html
• Renteln, A. D. (2014). “Cutting Edge Debates: A Cross-Cultural Consideration of Surgery”. Global Perspectives on Bioethics pp. 220-241.
• Martinez, M. A., Renteln, A. D. (2014). Human Rights and Art. The SAGE Handbook of Human Rights pp. 433-459. London: Sage Publications.
• Renteln, A. D. (2014). The Tension Between Noise Law and Religious Freedom: The Call to Prayer in a Multicultural Society. Human Rights and Religious Discourse pp. 375-411. Jerusalem: Israel Democracy Institute. IDI

Essay

• Renteln, A. D. (2012). The Duty to Rescue: Approaches to Global Justice. pp. 663-674. Political Theory.

Journal Article

• Renteln, A. D. (2010). “Making Room for Culture in Court”. The Judges’ Journal. Vol. 49 (2), pp. 7-15.
• Renteln, A. D., Valladares, R. (2009). “The Importance of Culture for the Justice System”. Judicature. Vol. 92 (5), pp. 194-201.
• Renteln, A. D. (2009). “When Westerners Run Afoul of the Law in Other Countries”. Judicature. Vol. 92 (5), pp. 238-242.