7908. The Canon of American Legal Thought

This seminar will explore what many regard as the "greatest hits" in American legal thought, essays and articles that have significantly influenced the development of law and legal theory in the U.S. since the early 20th Century. The essays exemplify the principal schools of modern legal thought including legal realism, law and economics, the law and society movement, and various branches of critical legal theory and feature legal thinkers from Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., and Karl Llewellyn to Duncan Kennedy and Catharine Mackinnon. Each week, we will analyze and critique selected essays, most of which will be found in the textbook, The Canon of American Legal Thought (David Kennedy & William W. Fisher III, eds. 2006); a handful of additional readings will be available via pdf. Grades will be calculated in the following manner: 1/3 = class participation; 1/3 = cumulative performance on weekly quizzes; and 1/3 = final exam.