Apart from their assigned mod courses, 1L students may only enroll in courses offered as 1L electives. A complete list of these courses can be found on the 1L Elective Listings page. 1L students must use the 1L class number listed on the course description when enrolling.
212.3 sec. 001 - Critical Race Theory (Spring 2025)
Instructor: Russell K Robinson (view instructor's teaching evaluations - degree students only | profile)
View all teaching evaluations for this course - degree students only
Units: 3
Grading Designation: Graded
Mode of Instruction: In-Person
Meeting:
Tu 10:00 AM - 12:40 PM
Location: Law 113
From January 14, 2025
To April 22, 2025
Course End: April 22, 2025
Enrollment info:
Enrolled: 7
Waitlisted: 0
Enroll Limit: 24
As of: 12/13 01:15 PM
This seminar explores established debates within Critical Race Theory ("CRT") and introduces students to new directions within that genre. One area of focus will be contrasting the fundamentals of CRT with the current media and legislative furor about the role of CRT and anti-racism in education. CRT originates in critiques of antidiscrimination law and in reactions to Critical Legal Studies. Beyond tracing these intellectual influences, this seminar will delve into recent CRT scholarship marking a renewed vigor in legal scholarship on race. The class will also engage the influence of CRT in political discourse, including recent conversations about structural racism, reparations, and intersectionality. The seminar will draw heavily on student participation, and it requires a thirty-page paper. Students will be invited to write in areas of their particular interest, with the expectation that they will draw on CRT scholarship in framing their analysis.
By way of comparison, the CRT seminar presumes familiarity with the basic canon of U.S. race cases that are taught in introductory Constitutional Law courses. The CRT seminar will focus almost exclusively on legal literature, though it will range broadly, from structural racism to the performance of racial identities to intersections with gender and sexuality.
Please note that Professor Robinson is unlikely to supervise student writing projects outside the scope of this class.
Interested students should write a one-paragraph description of their prior life and/or professional experiences related to CRT and what they hope to gain from the class. Please email your application to robinson@law.berkeley.edu by 5pm on November 8. After applying, students should hear back by November 12.
Attendance at the first class is mandatory for all currently enrolled and waitlisted students; any currently enrolled or waitlisted students who are not present on the first day of class (without prior permission of the instructor) will be dropped. The instructor will continue to take attendance throughout the add/drop period and anyone who moves off the waitlist into the class must continue to attend or have prior permission of the instructor in order not to be dropped.
Requirements Satisfaction:
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Exam Notes: (P) Final paper
(Subject to change by faculty member only through the first two weeks of instruction)
Course Category: Social Justice and Public Interest
This course is listed in the following sub-categories:
Race and Law
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