Race and Gender in the Law LAW-716

This course will investigate race and gender in the law in two senses: the experience of women and people of color as they have encountered legal institutions and processes; and the role of law in constructing racial and gender identities -- in defining the very meaning of race and gender in American culture. By looking at these issues from a variety of different angles, focusing our attention on the legal understandings and consciousness of women and people of color themselves, the course seeks to promote a deeper understanding of the complex interactions among law, politics and culture. It will draw on legal materials (cases and law review articles) as well as first-person narratives and readings from history, anthropology, and cultural criticism.