Course Description

What are legal rights and why do they matter? What roles do law, justice, and protest play in the realm of legal rights? How have minorities and other marginalized groups achieved, and continue to work toward, legal rights in this country? Legal rights are fundamental societal pillars by which we give power and freedoms to people in this country. Yet, not everyone in the United States enjoys the same legal rights nor have they ever. This course will explore how minorities, immigrants, LGBTQ+ communities, and many others have fought, through sociopolitical movements and other forms of protest, to gain equal legal rights in this society, particularly in New Mexico. It will dive into the historical and current struggles of marginalized communities to be treated equally and fairly, and it will explore how these communities have achieved, and continue to work toward, legal rights through law, justice, and protest. Furthermore, students will develop an understanding and appreciation of skills used by marginalized and legal communities to gain legal rights, such as public speaking, negotiation, community organizing, and direct, concise writing. 

Texts

Students will explore speeches and other communications from various community leaders that were pivotal in aiding their community achieve legal rights, such as, but not limited to, Fredrick Douglas, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Dolores Huerta, Cesar Chavez, Rev. Mineo Katigiri, and Audre Lorde. Students will also explore various manifestos from organizations that were pivotal in their community's sociopolitical struggle to earn legal rights, such as LULAC, ACE, UFW, and others. The course will also explore various excerpts from documentaries, such as "Dolores" (2018), and students will meet and hear from various organizations here in New Mexico that currently fight for the rights of their communities, including El Centro De Igualdad y Derechos, Organizing Land of Enchantment, the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty, Asian Family Center, The New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, and Black Lives Matter New Mexico. Finally, students will learn about skills used by marginalized and legal communities to gain legal rights, such as public speaking, negotiation, community organizing, and direct, concise, and persuasive writing, by reading various excerpts  that deal with each of these topics, including "Toward another view of legal negotiation: the structure of problem solving."  

Requirements

- Students are expected to attend every class and to participate in every class.

- Small and large group discussions will be how the majority of the course is taught, but some lecturing will occur.

- Students will receive 2-3 discussion questions prior to every class, and will have to turn in those discussion question responses for a grade. These questions will help students engage with the readings and will prep them for discussions in class. 

- Students will do a mid semester project which will require them to do a "Know Your Rights" presentation on a legal rights topic of their choosing. Students will be required to use public speaking skills they will learn in class for this project, as they will present their "Know Your Rights" presentations to the whole class.

- Students will do a "movement proposal/manifesto" as their final project, which will allow students to discuss both their knowledge of legal rights, social movements, and important skills used to achieve those movement's goals. 

About the Instructor(s): Felipe Guevara