LAW 628 - Civil Rights Seminar

Credits: 2
Description: This seminar examines the long U.S. civil rights movement through the lenses of law, history, and the study of social movement activism. Students will study civil rights case law and legislative reforms, as well as the ideas and accomplishments of the activists who made this law through various strategies of engagement with legal system. The questions to be explored include: How have civil rights law and activism interacted throughout U.S. history? Who were the people who created civil rights law through social movement activism and how did they succeed (and sometimes fail) in seeking to accomplish social change in and through law? What lessons can be drawn from the history of the U.S. civil rights movement that are relevant to social change lawyering and activism today? Under the guidance of the professor, students will write a paper on a topic of their choosing and will present their work at the end of the semester.