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Adv. Con. Law; Critical Readings of the Reconstruction Amendments

The course has been updated in light of this term’s Supreme Court decisions. Through a series of critical readings, it will explore the meanings of the Reconstruction Amendments to the US Constitution - the Thirteenth, Fourteenth (14th) and Fifteenth Amendments - centering on the 14th Amendment. By focusing on the intersections of race, gender and class, as well as the indivisibility of justice, the course will examine the claim that the Supreme Court is in the process of stripping the federal government of its power to protect the citizenship and civil rights of its people. If correct, the ill-effects of federal disempowerment today likely will disproportionately fall on the very people the Reconstruction Amendments were first meant to protect.

To ground the discussions, the class will begin by reading Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade, followed during the semester by West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (also decided this term) and Shelby County v. Holder. While the class will read several cases, the focus will be on critical legal analyses captured in law review articles and other literature. Course requirements include short reflection notes (participation), a relevant 25-page research paper of the student’s choice and a class presentation of the paper.

If you have any questions about this course, please email Professor Athena Mutua at admutua@buffalo.edu.