S-Term: Narrative Strategies for Racial Justice

Catalog description

This course considers the intersection of narrative strategies and tactics with conventional modes of law reform as a means of furthering racial justice. In addition to classroom lecture and discussion on campus, this class will travel to Montgomery, Alabama, where students will visit the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. Students will explore the role of narratives of racial difference in American history--from slavery and reconstruction to lynching and segregation--and how they supported the codification of racial hierarchy and enabled racial bigotry to often triumph over the rule of law and principles of equality. The course will consider the extent to which contemporary problems reflect these longstanding racial narratives. The materials for the course will include judicial decisions and social science materials, as well as detailed reports on the Transatlantic Slave Trade, the Domestic Slave Trade, Reconstruction, Lynching, and Segregation. Readings will consider the extent to which the contemporary carceral state functions as an extension of the historical narratives of race. The African-American experience will provide a basis for thinking about the absence of transitional justice in the U.S., the tolerance of racial disparities and inequities across many disciplines and how narrative work, cultural sites, storytelling, accessible reports and data can be powerful tools for change. All students in the course will be required to read a book from a booklist provided by the instructors that relates to the course and write a 10-15 page reflection paper that addresses ideas from the course about narrative and social justice. Interested SLS students should complete and submit an S-Term Course Selection Form 2024 available at https://law.stanford.edu/education/s-term/ by April 30, 2024. Forms received after the deadline will be processed…