Asian Americans and the Law

Asian Americans and the Law invites students to examine how U.S. law has shaped the experiences of Asian Americans for nearly 150 years by pairing landmark legal cases with evidence‑based social science research. The course traces a sweeping arc from Chinese Exclusion Acts and Japanese American incarceration to contemporary debates over immigration, affirmative action, and workplace discrimination. By the end of the course, students will gain a broader understanding for the ways in which law operates as a force that structures social life, opportunities, constraints, belonging, and exclusion.