LAW 868

About this course

This course explores how legal doctrine has been informed by social constructs of personal andcommunity-defining identities, how the doctrine has shaped the rule of law, and whether lawreform may properly be viewed through the prism of historical discrimination and bias. The firstsegment of the course will trace the history of our legal institutions as it relates to racially disparate outcomes in our justice system. We will consider the application of race-based paradigms and racialized legal constructs to other forms of self and community identification. The second segment of the course will look closely at discrete subject areas to determine whether the law as interpreted and applied results in disparate outcomes depending on identity. Students will consider such areas as criminal justice, fair employment legislation and enforcement, school desegregation and equity, fair housing, immigration policy and reform. The course relies on existing texts and supplemental materials assigned by the Professors.Students will be graded on a final paper, class participation, and in-class presentations.