Legal Studies 499CA - Law, Power, and Inequality 1

Laws and legal institutions, from police and prisons to immigration enforcement and welfare agencies, are not separate from politics and economics. Instead, they distribute rights and resources in ways that reshape and reinforce power. This course examines laws and institutions as products of interlocking political, economic, and racial structures with a focus on the ?political economy? of the law (a challenging concept we will unpack throughout the class). In neoliberal states, laws may protect and concentrate wealth; in more social democratic systems, laws may redistribute resources by focusing on equality rather than neutrality. Students will develop a theoretical and empirical foundation across three areas: (1) Law and Political Economy: How do laws shape markets, allocate or extract resources, and determine whose rights are championed? (2) Place and Punishment: How do local politics and resources (e.g. budgets) shape policing, court operations, and prison building? (3) Implications for Reform: How can we challenge these systems and imagine new approaches to the law, safety, and accountability? In the first semester, students will identify research opportunities related to these topics and practice posing questions, collecting data, and developing analyses. In the second semester, students will conduct a research project or produce a creative portfolio.

Open to Commonwealth Honors College students only.
This course is open to students in the Commonwealth Honors College. Students who would like to take this course should fill out this form (https://forms.gle/cGPUq8ASumsitBCr5) to express their interest by March 30. They will be notified on April 3rd whether they will be enrolled.