This reading group will examine the relationship between law and social (in)justice, exploring the promises and pitfalls of using law in the quest for social change. We will consider legal theory texts from the 20th and 21st century that consider the role of both public and private law in constructing, maintaining and challenging social, economic and political inequalities.
The reading group will meet weekly for the first six weeks of the semester. Students will be expected to participate actively in discussion, write several short papers, and present one reading or set of readings to the class.
1Ls, 2Ls, 3Ls and LLMs are all eligible for the seminar, though 1Ls will be given priority for half the seats. Interested students should send an email to William Chandler (wchandler@law.utexas.edu) indicating that they would like to take the reading group, and noting whether they are a 1L, upper level, LLM, or exchange student. They should also provide one short paragraph as to why they are interested in the reading group. In general, we will accept the students in the order their applications are received.
Engle, Karen