Discussion (1L): Governing Poverty

Catalog description

Decades of cuts to local government have wreaked havoc on communities left behind by the modern economy. Some of these discarded places are rural, others are urban. Some are conservative, some are progressive. Some are the most diverse communities in America, others are segregated. All are routinely trashed by outsiders for their poverty and their politics. Mostly, their governments are just broke. When a high-poverty city or county has run out of services to cut, properties to sell, bills to defer, and risky loans to take, what should its elected leaders do to ameliorate the harms of concentrated poverty? In this discussion group, students will engage readings, documentaries, and visual media about these topics. Each session, they will read one place-based chapter from Professor Anderson's forthcoming book, The Fight to Save the Town, which focuses on local networks of leaders and residents who are facing these challenges. Students will leave the course with a richer sense of the lived experience of poverty and its governance, as well as a broader picture of "law" that includes local administrative proceedings, municipal codes, civil and criminal law enforcement practices, elected public leadership, state and local taxation, and local budgets. Elements used in grading: Full attendance, reading of assigned materials, and active participation. The seminar will meet four times during the Fall quarter. Class meets 4:15-6:15pm, September 15, September 29, October 20, November 3.