NYU law students are increasingly realizing that economic justice is inextricable from the broader justice we seek and that such justice is unattainable unless we first come to terms with the ways in which the law shapes and, in turn, is shaped by systems of political and economic power. Yet, while many members of the NYU Law community have been deeply invested in questions of law and political economy, historically there has been no formal on-campus site for students to engage in these debates.
The NYU Law & Political Economy Association (“LPEA”) seeks to remedy this problem by creating an intellectual and social forum for students to plug into ongoing discussions about the ways in which problematic economic and political assumptions are often embedded in the law, and conversely, the role that law plays in creating and maintaining unjust hierarchies of class, race, gender, and sexuality as well as ecologically unsustainable economic systems. Through our annual “LPE 101” guest speaker series, LPEA introduces NYU Law students, from their first days setting foot on campus, to critical LPE frameworks for addressing the urgent issues of our time. Our goals are to fill what we see as gaps in the 1L curriculum, foster student interest in LPE scholarship, and build a sustained and approachable space for continued on-campus discussion, including through student-led readings groups. For more information on how to get involved with NYU LPEA, to hear about our upcoming events, or to subscribe to our listserv, please email Griffin Kenny (gsk293@nyu.edu).
