Sarah Song joined the Berkeley Law faculty in 2007. She is a political theorist with a special interest in issues of democracy, citizenship, migration, and inequality. She teaches in the Ph.D. Program in Jurisprudence and Social Policy (JSP) at Berkeley Law, including courses in political and legal philosophy, citizenship and migration, and feminist theory and jurisprudence. She also teaches First Amendment law in the JD curriculum. She currently serves as Head Graduate Advisor for the JSP Program.
Song is the author of Justice, Gender, and the Politics of Multiculturalism (
Her second book, Immigration and Democracy (Oxford University Press, 2018), explores the values and principles that shape and ought to shape public debate about immigration. The book examines the origins of the plenary power doctrine in U.S. immigration law, analyzes normative arguments for the modern state’s right to control immigration, and considers policy implications for reforming immigration law.
Born in South Korea, Song immigrated to the U.S. at the age of six and attended K-12 public schools in Missouri, Illinois, and New Hampshire. She received a B.A. from Harvard College, M.Phil from Oxford, and Ph.D. from Yale. Prior to coming to Berkeley, she was Assistant Professor of Political Science and Affiliated Faculty in Philosophy and Women’s & Gender Studies at M.I.T. She has been awarded fellowships from the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
From 2015 to 2020, Song served as director of Berkeley Law’s Kadish Center for Morality, Law, and Public Affairs, which together with the Philosophy and Political Science Departments sponsors the Workshop in Law, Philosophy, and Political Theory: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/research/kadish-center-for-morality-law-public-affairs/workshop-law-philosophy-political-theory/.
Education
B.A., Harvard University (1996)
M. Phil., Oxford University (1998)
Ph.D., Yale University (2003)
Sarah Song is not teaching any Law courses in Fall 2023.
Courses During Other Semesters
Semester | Course Num | Course Title | ![]() | Spring 2024 | 211.6 sec. 001 | Citizenship and Immigration | Spring 2023 | 215.5 sec. 001 | Foundations of Political Philosophy | View Teaching Evaluation | Spring 2022 | 220.9 sec. 001 | First Amendment | View Teaching Evaluation |
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Economists Love Immigration. Why Do So Many Americans Hate It?
Professor Sarah Song’s book “Immigration and Democracy” (Oxford) is discussed in Idrees Kahloon’s piece.
Abortion, Climate, Guns, and Religion: Supreme Court Poised for a Sharp Right Turn
Four Berkeley Law professors, including Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, discuss the court’s anticipated conservative decisions on some of America’s most divisive issues.
Podcast: Immigration and Multiculturalism
Professor Sarah Song appears on NPR’s Philosophy Talk podcast to discuss immigration and multiculturalism
Faculty Members Share Research Findings and Insights Leading Into World Refugee Day
With nearly 80 million refugees and displaced people worldwide, the school’s wide-ranging research identifies core concerns and sensible solutions.
Analysis: 2020, and the American chorus’ newly loud voices
Professor Sarah Song says the notion of many voices being heard, and which voices prevail, is going to be an ongoing struggle even with the forces that 2020 has unleashed
DACA at the Supreme Court: Professor Sarah Song Explains What’s at Stake
By Gwyneth K. Shaw Whatever the U.S. Supreme Court decides in three combined cases involving the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, the ruling will have far-reaching legal, political, and practical implications. Among the consolidated cases is Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California, and renowned attorney Theodore Olson ‘65
Cover to Cover: Another Prolific Year of Books from Berkeley Law Faculty
Dean Erwin Chemerinsky emceed the annual gathering to celebrate books written by the school’s prolific faculty over the past year.
Former LL.M. Students Honor Memory of Classmate’s Infant Son
They funded a well that serves a poor community in Pakistan and bears the name of the late son of Mustafa Farooq ’16.
DACA Decision Raises Legal Stakes for Undocumented Students
Berkeley Law faculty, staff, and students provide legal guidance and support to program participants and other undocumented immigrants.