SDG Detail

PLSC 21011 Democracy, Race and Equal Protection

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Project description

In this course, students explore the relationship between democratic governance and the equal protection of the law from several disciplinary perspectives. The primary focus is on integrating dominant legal understandings of equal protection, on one hand, with influential theories of democratic legitimacy, on the other. As such, students encounter key case law, court opinions and commentary from leading legal scholars. They also engage with foundational texts in democratic theory, the sociology of law and organizations, and legal anthropology. Many of these readings will focus primarily on racially unequal protections under the criminal law, using significant examples drawn from Chicago. This is because criminal prosecution has been intimately tied to racial discrimination and white supremacist violence throughout the history of the United States. Now, debate is fierce around how police and prosecutors fail to protect the lives of Black people. This seminar invites students to join this debate using a variety of theoretical tools and methodological approaches.