This research and writing seminar will explore emerging themes within the growing literature of critical race theory. We will focus origins of the critique and the contrasts between critical race theory and liberal/conservative frameworks on race and American law and society. We will also examine some of the questions raised by and about critical race theory and its impact on political discourse. The seminar is designed to facilitate the production of publishable written works. Participation is based on the permission of the instructor only and on demonstrated familiarity with selected themes on race, racism and American law through the submission of a two-page essay that reviews and compares some of the current literature on race, law and society. The essay should demonstrate familiarity with at least two of the following texts:
Faces at the Bottom of the Well (Derrick Bell),
The Alchemy of Race and Rights (Patricia Williams),
Race Matters (Cornel West),
Words that Wound (Crenshaw, Matsuda, Lawrence and Delgado),
Tyranny of the Majority (Lani Guinier),
Reflections of an Affirmative Action Baby (Steven Carter),
The Politics of Law (David Kairys), and
White By Law (Ian Haney Lopez).
Prospective students must also submit a one paragraph description of a proposed research project.