Writing in Law Resources

• Latina/o/x contributions to social and political change, including the Chicano Movement and the Chicana Feminist Movement 
• Intersections of Latina/o/x critical race theory and legal scholarship
• Equitable access to education
• Federal and/or local immigration policy including:
• Migrant detention centers, US/Mexico border militarization, and deportation
• Citizenship and naturalization
• State and local law enforcement partnerships with ICE (ex. Secure Communities Program)
• Political/legal rhetoric surrounding undocumented immigration
• Latina/o/x voting rights and voter ID laws
• Racial profiling and the criminalization of Latina/o/x groups
• Language discrimination
• Latina/o/x workers’ rights
• Housing discrimination/segregation
• Income inequality
• Food insecurity

A useful starting point for instructors is to consider where their own expertise might intersect with Latina/o Studies, and then conduct supplementary research to help build your assignment. For example, if you specialize in the health humanities, you might consider designing a unit assignment that centers on Latina/o/x access to healthcare.

Current events and community-based resources can also be a useful starting place for generating ideas. Familiarize yourself with ongoing legal and political issues in your community and research their intersections with Latina/o/x populations. You might also consider crafting projects tied to local communities, or asking your students to think about their own hometowns. The Latina/o Studies Program Staff are available for consultation as you embark on creating or modifying a unit assignment.

• Carolina Latinx Center
• The North Carolina Congress of Latino Organizations
• North Carolina Justice Center – Opportunity and prosperity for all
• Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project of The NC Justice Center
• El Centro Hispano
• ABA Section of Litigation, Implicit Bias Taskforce, Implicit Bias Toolbox
• Harvard Latinx Law Review
• LatCrit – Latina & Latino Critical Legal Theory

• An introduction to Latina/o Studies
• An introduction to various forms of legal and/or legislative writing, and a brief history of Latina/o/x contributions to legal and/or legislative writing and policy formation
• A discussion of the history of the U.S. legal and/or legislative system and the ways these systems have negatively impacted (and continues to negatively impact) communities of color, including Latina/o/x populations, due to structural racism and implicit bias
• A discussion of decolonial methodologies within these fields and examples of applications of these methodologies. This could include a discussion of Latina/o/x grassroots organizing practices and/or prison abolition and open borders movements.

There is no limit to the types of units one can create that incorporate Latina/o Studies. The Sample Unit Assignment includes a policy brief, but can be easily modified to incorporate other mediums. Other final projects could include:

• A case brief
• An appellate brief
• A bill analysis
• A request for proposal (RFP)
• An informational pamphlet

In this assignment, students prepare a Policy Brief on an issue related to Latina/o/x communities in NC. Their research begins with identifying a relevant issue, followed by the creation of a PEST chart to assess policy options, and culminating in a complete policy brief.

            Note: this sample unit project is broad in scope, but could easily be modified to focus on a narrower subfield.

LSP Writing in Law Sample Unit Assignment (PDF version)

LSP Writing in Law Sample Unit Assignment (MS Word version)

Student Template for Feeder 2—PEST chart (PDF version)

Student Template for Feeder 2—PEST chart (MS Word version)

For more sample unit assignments, click here to see what some of our Latina/o Studies Teaching Award Recipients have done.

The following resources may be helpful to consult when building your course:

1. Ortiz, Paul. An African American and Latinx History of the United States. Beacon Press, 2018.
2. Gutiérrez-Jones, Carl. Rethinking the Borderlands: Between Chicano Culture and Legal Discourse. University of California Press, 1995.
3. Rosales, Francisco A. Chicano!: The History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement. Arte Público Press, 1996.
4. Levy, Jacques E, Cesar Chavez, Fred Ross, and Jacqueline M. Levy. Cesar Chavez: Autobiography of La Causa. University of Minnesota Press, 2007.
5. Soltero, Carlos R. Latinos and American Law: Landmark Supreme Court Cases. University of Texas Press, 2006. 
6. Gonzales, Alfonso. Reform Without Justice: Latino Migrant Politics and the Homeland Security State. Oxford University Press, 2014.
7. Heine, Bennett et al. “”Aguantamos”: Limits to Latino Migrant Farmworker Agency in North Carolina Labor Camps.” Human organization vol. 76,3 (2017): 240-250. 
8. “Latino Civil Rights Timeline, 1903 to 2006.” (Teaching Tolerance)
9. “Secure Communities: A Fact Sheet.” (American Immigration Council)
10. Brooke, Carol, and Clermont Ripley. “Know Your Rights: Immigrant Workers’ Rights.” (North Carolina Justice Center)
11. Moreno, Eric. “Latinos Still Face Housing Segregation.” (Salud America!)
12. “Teaching Resources – LatCrit.” (LatCrit)
13. “Implicit Bias Toolbox.” (American Bar Association)
14. Nunez, Elissa. “How Redistricting Could Dampen The Political Power of Latinos.” (NBC News)