Law & Political Economy Seminar (undergrad)

This course introduces undergraduate students to the study of Law and Political Economy (or “LPE”). LPE has been described variously as a movement within legal scholarship or an emergent field cutting across law and the social sciences. LPE rejects common assumptions about law, politics, and the economy. Above all, LPE rejects a widespread view among mainstream legal scholars that these are—and should be—separate domains. Part I of this course
explores this rejection of mainstream views, including LPE’s assumption that law, politics, and economics cannot be disconnected from each other. Part II turns to illustrations of LPE’s theory and critiques, including cases drawn from several areas of U.S. law and politics: housing markets and ongoing crises; civil rights and liberties, such as freedom of speech; and LPE’s connections to the labor movement and other movements for social justice, among other topics. Part III concludes with a series of current affairs-focused subjects to be chosen collectively by the class later in the term.