This seminar introduces students to some of the big normative questions in contemporary democratic theory. For example, what do justice and equality look like in a diverse democracy? What should participation, inclusion, and representation look like when they take difference into account? How are concepts like citizenship and membership affected by immigration and identity politics? What role do law, legal institutions, and legal statuses play in defining democracy, citizenship, justice?

This course examines the role that law and courts have played in shaping, defining, and constructing the concepts of race and American citizenship over time. We will explore topics such as the legal definition of whiteness, racial restrictions in immigration and citizenship law, the 14th Amendment's expansion of citizenship to include former slaves, the legal rights of non-citizens, the ambiguous racial and citizenship status of Native Americans, and the significance of the enduring belief in a colorblind Constitution.

Not available at this time.

Interdisciplinary exploration of basic issues of law's relationship to contemporary society, in which law affects almost all human activity. Topics include the nature as well as historical and social functions of law; the culture and role of major actors in the legal system (lawyers, judges, juries, police, technology); tension between ideals and realities in law; role of law in addressing contemporary social problems.

Interdisciplinary exploration of basic issues of law's relationship to contemporary society, in which law affects almost all human activity. Topics include the nature as well as historical and social functions of law; the culture and role of major actors in the legal system (lawyers, judges, juries, police, technology); tension between ideals and realities in law; role of law in addressing contemporary social problems.

Interdisciplinary exploration of basic issues of law's relationship to contemporary society, in which law affects almost all human activity. Topics include the nature as well as historical and social functions of law; the culture and role of major actors in the legal system (lawyers, judges, juries, police, technology); tension between ideals and realities in law; role of law in addressing contemporary social problems.

This course provides an exploration of the environmental justice (EJ) movement. Central to our study is an examination of environmental degradation, inequality in exposure to pollution in relationship to racism and poverty, and globalization's effect on international environmental injustices. We critically analyze the role of grassroots activism, the law, and alternative dispute resolution methods used to redress environmental injustices. Coursework relies on relevant interdisciplinary scholarship, case studies, and engaged in-class simulations.

Interdisciplinary exploration of basic issues of law's relationship to contemporary society, in which law affects almost all human activity. Topics include the nature as well as historical and social functions of law; the culture and role of major actors in the legal system (lawyers, judges, juries, police, technology); tension between ideals and realities in law; role of law in addressing contemporary social problems.

Interdisciplinary exploration of basic issues of law's relationship to contemporary society, in which law affects almost all human activity. Topics include the nature as well as historical and social functions of law; the culture and role of major actors in the legal system (lawyers, judges, juries, police, technology); tension between ideals and realities in law; role of law in addressing contemporary social problems.

Interdisciplinary exploration of basic issues of law's relationship to contemporary society, in which law affects almost all human activity. Topics include the nature as well as historical and social functions of law; the culture and role of major actors in the legal system (lawyers, judges, juries, police, technology); tension between ideals and realities in law; role of law in addressing contemporary social problems.