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Critical Legal Studies is a in-depth survey of the approaches
radical legal scholars and social scientists use to study the
intersections of the law, discrimination, and inequality in American
society. Critical legal studies (CLS) challenges established norms
and standards in legal theory and practice, arguing that, contrary
to the view that the state is neutral with respect to individuals
and groups, the logic of the law emerges from the realities of
asymmetrical power arrangements. The purpose and the function of the
law, therefore, is to secure and advance the interests of the
dominant groups in society. Moreover, popular ideologies about the
law are said to consist of prejudices that rationalize social
injustice. Along with CRT,
students explore the related approaches of critical race theory
(CRT) and Feminist Legal Studies (FLS). CRT and FLS share in common
with CLS an historical-realist approach to analyzing structures of
exploitation, discrimination, and oppression. Furthermore, these
approaches operate with an eye towards the transcendence of material
and status inequities and injustices at economic, cultural,
political, and social-psychological levels. |
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