This course will consider two principles that have shaped American higher education: meritocracy and diversity. The ideal of diversity has shaped higher education at least since the Supreme Court's 1978 decision in Bakke v. University of California Regents. More recently, the Supreme Court has prohibited the use of race-based affirmative action in pursuit of diversity. And the Trump Administration has advocated for ideological diversity, while condemning the idea of racial diversity and approaches such as disparate impact and DEI, with which it is associated. In recent years, the idea of meritocracy has itself become subject to criticism. As with diversity, meritocracy is subject to multiple meanings, which we will probe. The central inquiry of the course concerns the extent to which the ideals of diversity and meritocracy are intertwined with current controversies in higher education, from admissions criteria, to cost, student debt, and social mobility, to research, institutional orthodoxy, academic freedom, and free speech. Course Materials & Culture: The course materials will be varied and will include not only judicial opinions and law review articles, but also books, magazine articles, social science research, and podcasts. We will also read my book manuscript, The Miseducation of America, which addresses many of the issues we will discuss. This course will be conducted as a seminar, in which your active participation is essential. Elements of Grading: There will be three elements of grading, weighted as indicated. 1: Two 2-3 page reflection papers responding either to the reading or to a prior discussion. (EDUC 25%) Your aspiration should be to stake out a position that you believe to be true, but with which you expect most of your classmates would disagree. Alternatively, you could identify a question or line of inquiry that you believe is important, yet which most of your classmates would dismiss. (EDUC 25% of grade.) 2: Class attendance and participation. (EDUC 25%) During class, we want to identify interesting or controversial aspects of the readings, to highlight perspectives or interpretations that were not reflected in the readings, and to consider the implications of the issues raised. (EDUC 25% of grade.) 3: A final paper. (EDUC 50%) The final paper can be 4000-5000 words (roughly EDUC 12-EDUC 15 pages) and can be completed with minimal, if any, research beyond the course materials and discussion. It may incorporate and extend the discussion in your reflection papers. The paper can be completed on your own, or you can work with a partner (or two); sharing ideas or thinking through an issue together is fine. (Of course, if you submit the same paper, you will receive the same grade on the paper.) CONSENT APPLICATION: To apply for this course, students must complete a Consent Application Form available at SLS Registrar https://registrar.law.stanford.edu/.
2 units · Letter or Credit/No Credit
This course will consider two principles that have shaped American higher education: meritocracy and diversity. The ideal of diversity has shaped higher education at least since the Supreme Court's 1978 decision in Bakke v. University of California Regents. More recently, the Supreme Court has prohibited the use of race-based affirmative action in pursuit of diversity. And the Trump Administration has advocated for ideological diversity, while condemning the idea of racial diversity and approaches such as disparate impact and DEI, with which it is associated. In recent years, the idea of meritocracy has itself become subject to criticism. As with diversity, meritocracy is subject to multiple meanings, which we will probe. The central inquiry of the course concerns the extent to which the ideals of diversity and meritocracy are intertwined with current controversies in higher education, from admissions criteria, to cost, student debt, and social mobility, to research, institutional orthodoxy, academic freedom, and free speech. Course Materials & Culture: The course materials will be varied and will include not only judicial opinions and law review articles, but also books, magazine articles, social science research, and podcasts. We will also read my book manuscript, The Miseducation of America, which addresses many of the issues we will discuss. This course will be conducted as a seminar, in which your active participation is essential. Elements of Grading: There will be three elements of grading, weighted as indicated. 1: Two 2-3 page reflection papers responding either to the reading or to a prior discussion. (25%) Your aspiration should be to stake out a position that you believe to be true, but with which you expect most of your classmates would disagree. Alternatively, you could identify a question or line of inquiry that you believe is important, yet which most of your classmates would dismiss. (25% of grade.) 2: Class attendance and participation. (25%) During class, we want to identify interesting or controversial aspects of the readings, to highlight perspectives or interpretations that were not reflected in the readings, and to consider the implications of the issues raised. (25% of grade.) 3: A final paper. (50%) The final paper can be 4000-5000 words (roughly 12-15 pages) and can be completed with minimal, if any, research beyond the course materials and discussion. It may incorporate and extend the discussion in your reflection papers. The paper can be completed on your own, or you can work with a partner (or two); sharing ideas or thinking through an issue together is fine. (Of course, if you submit the same paper, you will receive the same grade on the paper.) CONSENT APPLICATION: To apply for this course, students must complete a Consent Application Form available at SLS Registrar https://registrar.law.stanford.edu/.
Offered in Autumn 2026 at Stanford University.