Duncan Kennedy
Encyclopedia
Duncan Kennedy is the Carter Professor of General Jurisprudence at Harvard Law School
and a founder of critical legal studies
as movement and school of thought. Kennedy has been a member of the ACLU since 1967. According to his own testimony, he has never forgotten to pay his dues.
from Harvard College
in 1964 and then worked for two years in the CIA operation that controlled the National Student Association
. In 1966 he rejected his "cold war liberalism." He quit the CIA and in 1970 earned an LL.B.
from Yale Law School
. After completing a clerkship with Supreme Court
Justice Potter Stewart
, Kennedy joined the Harvard Law School faculty, becoming a full professor in 1976. In March 2010 he received an Honoris Causa (honorary degree) Ph.D. title from University of Los Andes (Colombia)
, Mark Kelman
, Roberto Unger
, and other scholars, Kennedy established the Critical Legal Studies movement
. Outside legal academia, he is mostly known for his monograph Legal Education and the Reproduction of Hierarchy
*http://www.duncankennedy.net/documents/Photo%20articles/Legal%20Education%20and%20the%20Reproduction%20of%20Hierarchy_J.%20Leg.%20Ed..pdf, famous for its trenchant critique of American legal education.
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
and a founder of critical legal studies
Critical legal studies
Critical legal studies is a movement in legal thought that applied methods similar to those of critical theory to law. The abbreviations "CLS" and "Crit" are sometimes used to refer to the movement and its adherents....
as movement and school of thought. Kennedy has been a member of the ACLU since 1967. According to his own testimony, he has never forgotten to pay his dues.
Education and early career
Kennedy received an A.B.Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
in 1964 and then worked for two years in the CIA operation that controlled the National Student Association
National Student Association
The United States National Student Association, a confederation of American college and university student governments, was founded in 1947 at a conference at the University of Wisconsin. It established its first headquarters in Madison, not far from the U. of Wisconsin campus...
. In 1966 he rejected his "cold war liberalism." He quit the CIA and in 1970 earned an LL.B.
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
from Yale Law School
Yale Law School
Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
. After completing a clerkship with Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
Justice Potter Stewart
Potter Stewart
Potter Stewart was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. During his tenure, he made, among other areas, major contributions to criminal justice reform, civil rights, access to the courts, and Fourth Amendment jurisprudence.-Education:Stewart was born in Jackson, Michigan,...
, Kennedy joined the Harvard Law School faculty, becoming a full professor in 1976. In March 2010 he received an Honoris Causa (honorary degree) Ph.D. title from University of Los Andes (Colombia)
Academic work and influence
In 1977, together with Karl KlareKarl Klare
Karl E. Klare is a Matthews Distinguished University Professor of labor and employment law and legal theory at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts, and the current coordinator of the International Network on Transformative Employment and Labor Law...
, Mark Kelman
Mark Kelman
Mark Kelman is jurist and vice dean of Stanford Law School. As a prominent legal scholar, he has applied social science methodologies, including economics and psychology, to the study of law. He is one of the most cited law professors...
, Roberto Unger
Roberto Mangabeira Unger
Roberto Mangabeira Unger is a philosopher and politician. He has written widely on social, political, legal, and economic theory, much of which has laid the philosophical and theoretical groundwork for reimagining and remaking the social and political order...
, and other scholars, Kennedy established the Critical Legal Studies movement
Critical legal studies
Critical legal studies is a movement in legal thought that applied methods similar to those of critical theory to law. The abbreviations "CLS" and "Crit" are sometimes used to refer to the movement and its adherents....
. Outside legal academia, he is mostly known for his monograph Legal Education and the Reproduction of Hierarchy
Legal Education and the Reproduction of Hierarchy
Legal Education and the Reproduction of Hierarchy: A Polemic Against the System is an essay by Duncan Kennedy on legal education in the United States of America. The work is a critique of American legal education and argues that legal education reinforces class, race, and gender...
*http://www.duncankennedy.net/documents/Photo%20articles/Legal%20Education%20and%20the%20Reproduction%20of%20Hierarchy_J.%20Leg.%20Ed..pdf, famous for its trenchant critique of American legal education.
See also
- Critical legal studiesCritical legal studiesCritical legal studies is a movement in legal thought that applied methods similar to those of critical theory to law. The abbreviations "CLS" and "Crit" are sometimes used to refer to the movement and its adherents....
- Indeterminacy debate in legal theoryIndeterminacy debate in legal theoryThe indeterminacy debate in legal theory can be summed up as follows: Can the law constrain the results reached by adjudicators in legal disputes? Some members of the critical legal studies movement — primarily legal academics in the United States — argued that the answer to this question is "no."...
- List of deconstructionists
External links
- Duncan Kennedy's Personal Website
- Duncan Kennedy's Harvard Law School Home Page
- http://www.legalleft.org/?page_id=137Duncan Kennedy debates Noah FeldmanNoah FeldmanNoah Feldman is an American author and professor of law at Harvard Law School.-Education and career:Feldman grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, where he attended the Maimonides School....
in March 2008 at Harvard Law School, as part of a series on "Confronting Empire"] - Duncan Kennedy at the University of the Andes, lecture on law and economics