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.
267.31 sec. 001 - Civil Rights in American History (Spring 2026)
Instructor: Dylan C Penningroth (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 2:10 PM - 5:00 PM
Location: 2240 Piedmont 102
From January 13, 2026
To April 21, 2026
Course End: April 21, 2026
Class Number: 34060
Enrollment info:
Enrolled: 15
Waitlisted: 0
Enroll Limit: 16
As of: 01/30 10:37 PM
Today it is common to think of civil rights as federal and state laws barring discrimination on account of race, sex, or other protected categories. But where did that conception come from, what has it done, and at what cost? This course explores the complicated history of civil rights in the United States. Topics may include the relationship between changing conceptions of civil rights and questions of gender, race, class, citizenship, and sexuality; the abolition and afterlives of slavery; shifts in the legal profession, such as the rise of impact litigation; and the relationship of law and social movements. In exploring these histories, we will seek to discuss what debates about civil rights reveal about Americans’ changing conceptions of legal and constitutional authority, and of who was ‘in’ or ‘out’ of the community of citizens. How have civil rights been defined, characterized, and critiqued over time? How has it interacted with rival concepts, such as public rights, human rights, labor rights, and social rights? What concepts, rhetoric, and modes of analysis have we inherited from the long history of civil rights in America?
At a broader level, the course seeks to provide JSP, JD, and PhD students in History and other disciplines an opportunity to explore how social, cultural, and political processes are bound up with legal ideas, rules, and institutions, as well as a wide-angle perspective on the contexts that shape and give meaning to blackletter law.
This is a discussion-based seminar, drawing heavily on student participation. The course is also designed to help students produce a research paper (approx. 30 pages). In consultation with Professor Penningroth, participants will choose a topic (contemporary or historical) related to civil rights and explain its significance (and policy implications) drawing on the histories or theories covered in the course or related materials.
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Requirements Satisfaction:
This class fulfills Option 2 of the J.D. writing requirement for all students in the course. All students must write 30 pages and complete a draft. |
Exam Notes: (P) Final Paper
(Subject to change by faculty member only through the first two weeks of instruction)
Course Category: Jurisprudence and Social Policy (JSP)
This course is listed in the following sub-categories:
Race and Law
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