Human Rights, Intersectionality, & the Law

This research seminar introduces students to Intersectionality as both a theoretical and practical way to address social problems related to inequities around race, gender, poverty, disability, and more. Topics will include child welfare, disability law, public health, housing, environmental/food justice, poverty, intimate partner violence, religion, and restorative justice. As explained by the founding legal theorist, Prof. Kimberle’ Crenshaw, “emerging as a theory to articulate the multiple axis of discrimination encountered by women of color in employment, the family, and elsewhere, Intersectionality has found broader application in efforts to move beyond single-issue and identity-based approaches to societal marginalization.” This class situates Intersectionality as a tool to address, and redress, human rights, in both theory and practice. Students will learn the role of Intersectionality in the human impacts of social problems, and how to leverage that understanding to advance social justice. The class will include guest lecturers, mostly women of color, from various legal specialties and law-related disciplines. Students will also have skill-building opportunities with feedback on oral presentations, and developing legal strategies. This course satisfies the upper-level writing seminar requirement.