UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Law 2L John Malchow is no stranger to travel, having visited far-off places like Austria, Berlin and Turkey. So when the opportunity to help teach a comparative course on U.S. law to students at Nirma University Institute of Law, one of India’s top law schools, presented itself, he couldn’t turn it down.
Malchow, along with Stephen Barnes, assistant dean for graduate and international programs, and LL.M. alumna Rijuta Mohanty, traveled to Ahmedabad, India — the site where Gandhi established the Salt March that led to India’s independence — over Penn State’s winter break to teach one of the Institute’s three courses that compare Indian law to law in other countries. The 10-day course held morning and afternoon classes, where over 100 students learned about the U.S. Constitution and used movies from the American Bar Association’s list of top 25 best legal films to compare and contrast the U.S. legal system with that of India.
“John and Rijuta were invaluable as peer advisers, teachers, and references to the curious, motivated, and engaging students,” said Barnes.
Malchow noted that the learning approach in Indian law schools is more lecture-based, while in the U.S. the Socratic method is typically used. It didn’t take long, though, for the students to get involved in the discussions, and really take something away from the experience.
“There was a really great response from the students,” said Malchow. “I really think they benefited from the program.”
Many topics were covered in the course, which compares the relatively short U.S. Constitution with the much longer and more specific Indian Constitution. The cohort from Penn State Law has been invited back to Nirma University Institute of Law again next year for the same program, with the potential for a larger number of current students to make the trip. A similar program with Mongolian students is also in development for this summer.
“Everyone should be open to taking a chance on these opportunities,” said Malchow. “This was an extraordinary experience; you might not expect it, but it’s a great way to spend break.”