S. Law and Humanities Workshop: Racial Tyranny and the Future of American Democracy

This course situates the current democratic crisis in the United States within a long history of racial tyranny. From chattel slavery, settler colonialism, land dispossession, and segregation to the present-day dismantling of civil rights, safety-net protections, and multiracial democratic norms, racism has functioned as both the scaffolding and the engine of authoritarian rule. This seminar approaches the present moment as part of a long cycle of racial progress followed by backlash.

Drawing from law, history, philosophy, literature, sociology, political theory, and the arts, we will undertake a deeper interdisciplinary interrogation of the crises in the American political landscape by examining the interface between democracy, lawmaking practices, and racial hierarchy. The humanities help us recover suppressed histories, challenge distorted narratives, reveal the architecture of racial power, and trace its material and institutional consequences—while opening space to imagine futures beyond authoritarianism. The law, viewed through a critical race theory lens, offers insights into how racial power is structured, contested, and remade. By bringing these perspectives together, we aim to develop analyses and strategies that are more comprehensive, incisive, and actionable than any single discipline could produce. The goal of this seminar is twofold: first, to equip ourselves with the historical, legal, and theoretical tools necessary to understand the corrosive role of racism in the erosion of democracy; and second, to explore how an interdisciplinary lens can help us defend and advance a truly inclusive, multiracial democracy in this moment of profound crisis.