Rachel López. “Critical Curriculum Design: Teaching Law in an Age of Rising Authoritarianism.” Minnesota Law Review, vol. 109, no. 2 (2025): 81-111.
This article examines how legal education in the United States contributes to democratic backsliding by producing lawyers who are technically proficient but often disengaged from democratic values. It argues that the traditional model of teaching students to “think like a lawyer” prioritizes analytical detachment over civic responsibility, which may inadvertently prepare lawyers to participate in, or fail to resist, democratic erosion—as evidenced by their roles in events like Watergate and the January 6th insurrection. Drawing on deliberative and contestatory theories of democracy, the author proposes a reimagined legal curriculum grounded in “critical curriculum design.” This approach aims to cultivate democratic competencies in law students by fostering engaged citizenship, including the ability to bridge ideological divides, challenge authority, and imagine alternative legal frameworks. The essay contends that law schools must move beyond teaching legal doctrine and technical skills to embed civic responsibility across the entire legal education experience. By doing so, they can train future lawyers not only to navigate legal systems but also to defend and strengthen democratic institutions.