Ethnic Studies, Cultural Pluralism, and American Law and Justice

This course is an interdisciplinary study of marginalized peoples and their relationship to the law. The course examines the legal perspective on cultural diversity in the United States by examining groups based on race, ethnicity, gender, class, religious background, disability, and sexual orientation. It also analyzes how these groups interact with mainstream society through American law, concentrating on both historical and contemporary state and federal legislation and court rulings, along with how the courts play a role in determining the status of minority groups and the effect of the law on cultural pluralism and cultural diversity in the United States.