Law M315 - Asian American Jurisprudence (Prof. Kang)

Print

Legal, social, and political discourse on race relations has traditionally been framed in Black-White terms. This course disrupts the traditional view by taking Asian Americans seriously. Since the 19th century, American law has shaped the demographics, experiences, and possibilities of Asian Americans. This profound impact will be examined through judicial opinions, legal commentary, social science, and historical readings on topics such as immigration and naturalization, de jure discrimination, and the World War II internment of Japanese Americans. There will be heavy emphasis on social cognitive accounts of implicit bias. This course will also explore the converse phenomenon of how Asian Americans have helped shape American law, through constitutional litigation and recent scholarship. Particular attention will be paid to critical race theory (CRT), the Asian American variation on CRT, and the vocal detractors of both movements. Finally, this course will canvas timely issues such as racial violence, media stereotypes, affirmative action, and post 9-11 civil liberties issues. Although this course focuses on the Asian American experience, it is not meant for Asian Americans alone. It may be profitably taken by anyone who cares about race relations and who is intellectually drawn to an unconventional inquiry. Class is taught Socratically, so students should be expected to be called on daily. (Grades will be based on class participation and the writing of Encyclopedia entries—brief analytic accounts of important cases, concepts, and histories that may be published on-line.)