POL S 564: Law and the Politics of Social Change
Winter Quarter 2026
Professor Brie McLemore | email: bmclem@uw.edu
Tuesdays 1:30 - 4:20 p.m. | Savery Hall 141
Office Hours: Wednesdays from 12pm to 2pm, by appointment
Office: Gowen Hall 25
Course Description
This seminar explores how law can transform, enable, or hinder efforts to affect social change. We will examine how and why individuals and groups, particularly social movements, appeal to the law, especially but not exclusively the courts. We will also assess the narratives and tactics activists utilize when engaging with state and professional legal actors, such as elected officials, policy-makers, and lawyers. However, this course does not conceptualize the legal system as an omnipotent, yet unchanging force, instead engaging with the dynamic and co-constitutive relationship between the law and social movements across time. In this course, students will develop a comprehensive understanding of how socio-legal scholars and political scientists have theorized and empirically studied the power and possibilities of legal mobilization. We will also utilize an interdisciplinary lens to critically examine the tension of appealing to rights, particularly for queer, feminist, racial justice, immigrant, and disability rights movements, in which the law can be mobilized to garner support for their causes, but can also be weaponized to curtail their agendas. While this course will focus primarily on law and social change within the U.S. context, students will be encouraged to extrapolate these themes to a comparative or international context.
This is a PhD level course and can be applied to the course requirements for the following fields in the Political Science Department: Public Law and American Politics.
Course Assignments:
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Discussant-Presenter Assignment
Students will each assist in leading one of the class discussions during the quarter. Discussants will develop questions based on the readings to guide the seminar, make connections to the larger themes of the course, historically contextualize the class content and social movements pertaining to the week, and discuss the contemporary implications for law, society, and politics. Discussants will also be tasked with incorporating the response papers for each week. Students will sign-up for the course they would like to serve as a discussant for during the first week of class.
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Two response papers
Students will upload two response papers (2-3 pages double-spaced) throughout the quarter for a week of their choosing. The papers will be distributed to all class members via Canvas by 5pm on the Sunday before class. These response papers should incorporate interesting takeaways, critiques, strengths and weaknesses of the proposed arguments, and/or outstanding questions regarding the course materials. Response papers should not summarize the readings, but instead focus on a specific topic or idea either from a specific reading or across all of the readings assigned for the week. These response papers should also address the overarching questions for the module of the course in which they are assigned, which are outlined in the syllabus. Students are also invited to connect readings to previous materials from the course, as well as current events both domestically and abroad. All students are expected to read the submitted response papers in preparation for class. I, as well as the presenters for the week, will incorporate these response papers into the class discussion.
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Final Paper (Due 11:59pm March 17th, 2025)
Students will submit a 15 to 20 page double spaced paper exploring one or more research questions incorporating the topics and materials covered throughout the course. These questions can be addressed either through a critical analysis of scholarly literature pertaining to your topic, including material not covered directly in the course. Students can also propose or undertake an empirical study to address their research question(s) and detail how this project will inform and expand upon existing research contending with law and social change. Students also have the option to apply the content and theories that emerge from the course to a specific instance that has not been discussed in class in which the law has been mobilized for social change. While the final paper will require additional research and secondary materials, the assigned readings for the course should serve as the primary sources.
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Paper Proposal and Peer Feedback
Each student will submit a one-page, single-spaced proposal for their final paper by February 10th, 2025 by 11:59pm. This proposal should include the research questions for your final paper, how you plan to address these questions, and how your project will inform existing scholarship on law and social movements. This proposal should also include a list of potential sources, which will not count towards the page limit. Students will submit their proposals to me via Canvas and I will then separate students into groups of two or three for a short peer review. Students will be required to read the proposal of their peer-partner(s) and provide substantive feedback on the research questions and project proposal, which should be uploaded to Canvas by February 20th by 11:59pm. There will be time in class to meet with your peer-partner(s) to elaborate on your project and address any comments, concerns, or questions raised. When submitting their final paper, students will write a 1 page single-spaced reflection on how this feedback informed their final paper.
| Assignment | Grade Percentage | Due Date |
|---|---|---|
| Discussant-Presenter Assignment | 20% | By the final class of the quarter |
| Two Response Papers | 5% each (10% total) | Sunday before class by 5 p.m. |
| Paper Proposal | 5% | February 10th by 11:59 p.m. |
| Peer Feedback | 10% | February 20th by 11:59 p.m. |
| Feedback Reflection | 5% | March 17th by 11:59 p.m. |
| Final Paper | 50% | March 17th by 11:59 p.m. |
Course Expectations:
All students are required to come to class having read the assigned readings and prepared to engage in active, thoughtful, and respectful discussion. Students are also required to upload the six assignments for the course to Canvas by the stated due dates.
Course Guidelines and Policies
Late Assignments
Given the brevity of the quarter system and that the assignments are designed to build off of one another, submitting assignments by the stated due date is essential for success in this course. If you suspect you will not be able to meet a course deadline, please reach out to me immediately. Late assignments without prior approval from the instructor will not be accepted.
Academic Misconduct
The University takes academic integrity very seriously. Behaving with integrity is part of our responsibility to our shared learning community.
Acts of academic misconduct may include but are not limited to:
- Cheating (the acquisition, use, or distribution of unpublished materials created by another
student without the express permission of the original author(s), working collaboratively on assignments and discussion submissions without the expressed approval from the instructor) - Plagiarism (representing the work of others as your own without giving appropriate credit to the original author(s))
- Multiple submissions of the same work in separate courses without the express
permission of the instructor(s).
Use of ChatGPT (or other AI-based Tools that generate text) is strictly prohibited in this course and will be treated as an act of academic misconduct.
All cases of suspected academic misconduct will be referred to the Arts and Sciences Committee on Academic Conduct and students may receive a zero grade for the assignment in question.
If you are uncertain about what constitutes academic misconduct, please feel free to consult with me prior to submitting an assignment.
Accommodations
Your experience in this class is important, and it is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. Disability Resources for Students (DRS) offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities through an interactive process between you, your instructor(s) and DRS. If you have established accommodations with DRS, please communicate your approved accommodations to the instructor as soon as possible so we can discuss your needs in this course. If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (including, but not limited to, mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), you are welcome to contact DRS at 206-543-8924, Mary Gates Hall 011, or uwdrs@uw.edu or disability.uw.edu.
Religious Accommodations
Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious accommodations-request/).
Class Schedule:
Part One: Definitions and Concepts
January 6th: The Politics and Contestations of Rights and Justice
- Key Questions:
- What is the law and what does it offer us?
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- What systems, structures, and power dynamics can the law impact? What are its limits?
- Assigned Readings:
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- Scheingold, Stuart. “Law as Ideology: An Introduction to the Myth of Rights.” 2004. In The Politics of Rights: Lawyers, Public Policy, and Political Change, University of Michigan Press, 13–22.
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- McCann, Michael. 2014. “The Unbearable Lightness of Rights: On Sociolegal Inquiry in the Global Era.” Law & Society Review 48(2): 245–73.
- Williams, Patricia. “The Pain of Word Bondage.” 1991. In The Alchemy of Race and Rights, Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 146–65.
- Brown, Wendy. "Rights and Losses." 1995. In States of Injury: Power and Freedom in Late Modernity, Princeton University Press, 96–134.
January 13th: Defining the Field
- Key Questions
- How have scholars theorized and empirically studied the relationship between law and social change?
- Which fields are most represented in law and social change scholarship?
- What is the social, political, and historical context in which research on law and social change has emerged?
- Assigned Readings
- Barclay, Scott, Lynn C. Jones, and Anna-Maria Marshall. 2011. “Two Spinning Wheels: Studying Law and Social Movements” ed. Austin Sarat. Studies in Law, Politics, and Society Special Issue: Social Movements/Legal Possibilities 54(54): 1–16.
- Lehoucq, Emilio, and Whitney K. Taylor. 2020. “Conceptualizing Legal Mobilization: How Should We Understand the Deployment of Legal Strategies?” Law & Social Inquiry 45(1): 166–93.
- Galanter, Marc. 1974. “Why the ‘Haves’ Come out Ahead: Speculations on the Limits of Legal Change.” Law & Society Review 9(1): 95–160.
- Torres, Gerald, and Lani Guinier. 2014. “Changing the Wind: Notes Toward a Demosprudence of Law and Social Movements.” Cornell Law Faculty Publications 6(Paper 1212): 2740–2804.
Part Two: Leveraging the Law
January 20th: Strategies and Conditions Of Change
- Key Questions
- How and why did the legal system arise as a venue for negotiating, debating, and reconfiguring social dynamics?
- How have social movements and individuals historically used the legal system to affect social change, articulate concerns, and garner support for their causes?
- How do those attempting to affect social change conceptualize, articulate, and imagine the law?
- Assigned Readings
- Ware, Leland. 2001. “Setting the Stage for Brown: The Development and Implementation of the NAACP’s School Desegregation Campaign, 1930-1950.” Mercer Law Review 52(2): 631–73.
- Fleischer, Doris Zames, and Frieda Zames. 2011. “The Struggle for Change: In the Streets and in the Courts.” In The Disability Rights Movement, From Charity to Confrontation, Temple University Press, 71–87.
- Ziegler, Mary. 2020. “Roe v. Wade and the Rise of Rights Arguments.” In Abortion and the Law in America: Roe v. Wade to the Present, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 11–26.
- Den Dulk, Kevin. 2006. “In Legal Culture, but Not of It: The Role of Cause Lawyers in Evangelical Legal Mobilization.” In Cause Lawyers and Social Movements, eds. Austin Sarat and Stuart A. Scheingold. Stanford, CA: Stanford Law and Politics, 197–217.
- Merry, Sally Engle. 2003. “Rights Talk and the Experience of Law: Implementing Women’s Human Rights to Protection from Violence.” Human Rights Quarterly 25(2): 343–81.
January 27th: The Legacy of the Rights Revolution
- Key Questions:
- How is “success” defined and assessed? Who has the power to make these determinations?
- How can the current social, political, and economic moment be understood within the historical context of leveraging the law for change?
- Assigned Readings:
- Rosenberg, Gerald N. 1996. “Bound for Glory? Brown and the Civil Rights Revolution.” In The Hollow Hope: Can Courts Bring About Social Change?, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 42–71.
- King, Martin Luther. 2010. “Chapter 1: The Negro Revolution - Why 1963?” In Why We Can’t Wait, The King Legacy, Boston: Beacon Press.
- Cummings, Scott L. 2018. “Law and Social Movements: Reimagining the Progressive Canon.” Wisconsin Law Review 18(3): 441–501.
- Bell, Derrick A. 1980. “Brown v. Board of Education and the Interest-Convergence Dilemma.” Harvard Law Review 93(3): 518–33.
- Greenhouse, Linda. 2024. “The Dobbs Court.” The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 713(1): 165–82.
Part Three: Social Movements and the Force of Law
February 3rd: Legal Actors, Social Movements, and the Force of Law
- Key Questions:
- How do lawyers bridge the nexus between law and activism?
- What are the possibilities and challenges of lawyers as agents of social change?
- Do lawyers exist within or outside of social movements?
- Assigned Readings
- Bourdieu, Pierre. 1986. “The Force of Law: Toward a Sociology of the Juridical Field Essay.” Hastings Law Journal 38(5): 805–13.
- Sarat, Austin, and Stuart Scheingold. 2010. “What Cause Lawyers Do For, and To, Social Movements An Introduction.” In Cause Lawyers and Social Movements, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
- Quigley, William. 2007. “Letter to a Law Student Interested in Social Justice.” DePaul Journal for Social Justice 1(1): 7–28.
- Scales, Ann. 2006. “Feminist Legal Method.” In Legal Feminism: Activism, Lawyering, and Legal Theory, New York: University Press, 112–31.
- Bell, Derrick A. 1976. “Serving Two Masters: Integration Ideals and Client Interests in School Desegregation Litigation.” The Yale Law Journal 85(4): 470–516.
February 10th: Social Movement Tactics and the Force of Law
- Key Questions:
- How does the law shape which actions, strategies, and narratives activists adopt?
- How does the law delegitimize, foreclose upon, or invalidate other approaches to affecting social change?
- Assigned Readings
- Leachman, Gwendolyn M. 2014. “From Protest to Perry: How Litigation Shaped the LGBT Movement’s Agenda.” UC Davis Law Review 47(5): 1677–1751.
- Wasby, Stephen L. 1984. “Civil Rights Litigation by Organizations: Constraints and Choices.” Judicature 68(6): 337–54.
- Wexler, Lesley. 2020. “#MeToo and Law Talk.” University of Chicago Legal Forum 2019(1): 343–269.
- Meyer, David S., and Steven A. Boutcher. 2007. “Signals and Spillover: Brown V. Board of Education and Other Social Movements.” Perspectives on Politics 5(1): 81–93.
- Osterweil, Vicky. 2020. “Introduction.” In In Defense of Looting: A Riotous History of Uncivil Action, New York City, NY: Bold Type Books.
Part Four: The Consequences of Law
February 17th: Intersectionality
- Key Questions:
- Who benefits from legal “wins”?
- How does the law’s privileging of autonomy, individuality, and simplicity impact the outcome of legal cases and the strategies of social movements?
- Assigned Readings
- Crenshaw, Kimberlé. 1989. “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics.” University of Chicago Legal Forum. 1989(1): 138–67.
- Sins Invalid. 2019. Skin, Tooth, and Bone: The Basis of Movement Is Our People - A Disability Justice Primer. 2nd ed.
- Spade, Dean. 2013. “Intersectional Resistance and Law Reform.” Signs 38(4): 1031–55.
- Inniss, Lolita Buckner, and Bridget J. Crawford. 2025. “Dialogue: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Transformation.” In Social Movements and the Law: Talking about Black Lives Matter and #Metoo, Oakland, California: University of California Press, 101–26.
February 24th: Law as Weapon
- *Peer Review Exercise in Class*
- Key Questions:
- How is the law utilized to curtail, weaken, and even punish those who engage in social movements?
- Assigned Readings:
- Barkan, Steven E. 1984. “Legal Control of the Southern Civil Rights Movement.” American Sociological Review 49(4): 552–65.
- Kim, Mimi E. 2020. “The Carceral Creep: Gender-Based Violence, Race, and the Expansion of the Punitive State, 1973–1983.” Social Problems 67(2): 251–69.
- Ashley, Colin P. 2015. “Gay Liberation: How a Once Radical Movement Got Married and Settled Down.” New Labor Forum 24(3): 28–32.
- Francis, Megan Ming. 2019. “The Price of Civil Rights: Black Lives, White Funding, and Movement Capture.” Law & Society Review 53(1): 275–309.
- Blee, Lisa. 2012. “The Quest for a Legal Enemy.” Radical History Review (113): 55–65.
March 3rd: Losing the Law
- Key Questions:
- What are the ramifications for individuals and social movements who “lose” legal challenges?
- How does “losing” impact a social movement?
- What conditions might influence the likelihood of successfully affecting social change through law?
- Assigned Readings:
- Boutcher, Steven A. 2010. “Mobilizing in the Shadow of the Law: Lesbian and Gay Rights in the Aftermath of Bowers v. Hardwick.” In Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change, ed. Patrick G. Coy. Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 175–205.
- NeJaime, Douglas. 2011. “Winning through Losing.” Iowa Law Review 96(3): 941–1013.
- Murray, Yxta Maya. 2024. “‘So Many Stories Like That:’ Imani Jacqueline Brown, Blights Out, and Live Action Painting.” In We Make Each Other Beautiful: Art, Activism, and the Law, Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
- Lovell, George I., Michael McCann, and Kirstine Taylor. 2016. “Covering Legal Mobilization: A Bottom‐Up Analysis of Wards Cove v. Atonio.” Law & Social Inquiry 41(1): 61–99.
- Bower, Lisa C. 1994. “Queer Acts and the Politics of ‘Direct Address’: Rethinking Law, Culture, and Community.” Law & Society Review 28(5): 1009–33.
Part Five: Alternative Visions
March 10th: Transcending the Law
- Key Questions:
- What are alternative avenues for achieving the aims and goals of social change beyond the legal system?
- How could the existing legal system transform to achieve the aims and goals of social change?
- Assigned Readings:
- Davis, Angela. Y. (2005). Resistance, Language, and Law. In Abolition democracy: Beyond empire, prisons, and torture. Seven Stories Press.
- Cohen, Cathy. J. (1997). Punks, Bulldaggers, and Welfare Queens: The Radical Potential of Queer Politics? GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies, 3(4), 437–465.
- Akbar, Amna. A. (2018). Toward a Radical Imagination of Law. New York University Law Review, 93, 405-479.
- Kim, Mimi. E. (2018). From carceral feminism to transformative justice: Women-of-color feminism and alternatives to incarceration. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 27(3), 219–233.
- Stone, Christopher D. 2010. “1. Should Trees Have Standing? Toward Legal Rights for Natural Objects.” In Should Trees Have Standing? : Law, Morality, and the Environment, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, 1–31.