LJA 212 Race and the Law

This course examines the connections between race and the law in the United States, from colonial times to the present, using court cases, primary sources, and secondary legal and historical scholarship. Students will be asked to critically examine the intersection of the law and race in U.S. society and how this intersection has changed over time. As a part of this critical analysis, the course will explore major legal landmarks concerning race, including the fight over “Indian Removal,” the Reconstruction amendments, the development of de jure segregation (and challenges to that segregation), the 1924 Immigration Act and racially-informed legal battles over citizenship, legal decisions of the mid-20th century Civil Rights Movement, and the development of mass incarceration.

Credits

4

Offered

fall semester.