Synopses & Reviews
Read
Chapter One.
"Unlike other theorists, these people mean to change the world, not merely to 'ascertain how society organizes itself along racial lines and hierarchies, but to transform it for the better.' This book has served as my introduction to a field I wish I had started to cultivate and harvest much earlier."
Bloomsbury Review
For well over a decade, critical race theorythe school of thought that holds that race lies at the very nexus of American lifehas roiled the legal academy. In recent years, however, the fundamental principles of the movement have influenced other academic disciplines, from sociology and politics to ethnic studies and history.And yet, while the critical race theory movement has spawned dozens of conferences and numerous books, no concise, accessible volume outlines its basic parameters and tenets. Here, then, from two of the founders of the movement, is the first primer on one of the most influential intellectual movements in American law and politics.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments xv
Foreword by Angela Harris xvii
I Introduction 1
A. What Is Critical Race Theory? 2
B. Early Origins 3
C. Relationship to Other Movements 4
D. Principal Figures 5
E. Spin-off Movements 6
F. Basic Tenets of Critical Race Theory 6
G. How Much Racism Is There in the World? 9
H. Organization of This Book 11
Questions and Comments for Chapter I 13
Suggested Readings 14
II Hallmark Critical Race Theory Themes 15
A. Interest Convergence, Material
Determinism, and Racial Realism 16
B. Revisionist History 20
C. Critique of Liberalism 21
D. Structural Determinism 25
1. Tools of Thought and the Dilemma of
Law Reform 26
2. The Empathic Fallacy 27
Classroom Exercise 29
3. Serving Two Masters 30
4. Race Remedies Law as a
Homeostatic Device 31
Questions and Comments for Chapter II 33
Suggested Readings 34
III Legal Storytelling and Narrative Analysis 37
A. Opening a Window onto Ignored or
Alternative Realities 39
B. Counterstorytelling 42
C. Cure for Silencing 43
D. Storytelling in Court 45
E. Storytelling on the Defensive 46
Questions and Comments for Chapter III 47
Suggested Readings 48
IV Looking Inward 51
A. Intersectionality 51
B. Essentialism and Anti-Essentialism 56
C. Nationalism versus Assimilation 59
Classroom Exercise 63
Questions and Comments for Chapter IV 64
Suggested Readings 65
V Power and the Shape of Knowledge 67
A. The Black-White Binary 67
B. Critical White Studies 74
Classroom Exercise 80
C. Other Developments: Latino and Asian
Critical Thought, Critical Race
Feminism, Queer-Crit Theory 81
Questions and Comments for Chapter V 84
Suggested Readings 85
VI Critiques and Responses to Criticism 87
Classroom Exercise 95
Questions and Comments for Chapter VI 97
Suggested Readings 98
VII Critical Race Theory Today 101
A. The 1990s 101
B. Capitalism on the Rampage 102
1. Unmasking Color Blindness 103
2. Race, Class, Welfare, and Poverty 107
3. Globalization 111
C. Power 113
D. Identity 120
Classroom Exercise 121
Questions and Comments for Chapter VII 123
Suggested Readings 125
VIII Conclusion 129
A. The Future 129
B. A Critical Race Agenda for the New Century 131
C. Likely Responses to Critical Race Theory 133
1. Critical Race Theory Becomes the
New Civil Rights Orthodoxy 133
2. Critical Race Theory Marginalized
and Ignored 134
3. Critical Race Theory Analyzed,but Rejected 134
4. Partial Incorporation 135
Classroom Exercise 135
Questions and Comments for Chapter VIII 137
Suggested Readings 138
Glossary of Terms 141
Index 157
About the Authors 167
Review
"Unlike other theorists, these people mean to change the world, not merely to 'ascertain how society organizes itself along racial lines and hierarchies, but to transform it for the better.' This book has served as my introduction to a field I wish I had started to cultivate and harvest much earlier." - Bloomsbury Review
Review
"Prolific contributors to the field, Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic here combine their understandings in a marvelously readable overview of this pathbreaking and controversial area of legal thought. Critical Race Theory will enlighten newcomers while offering new perspectives for critics as well as adherents."
"Unlike other theorists, these people mean to change the world, not merely to 'ascertain how society organizes itself along racial lines and hierarchies, but to transform it for the better.' This book has served as my introduction to a field I wish I had started to cultivate and harvest much earlier."
Review
“A strong, effective, and readable portrayal of how twentieth-century American parents have invested and over-invested in their children. In a fairly short compass, Stearns has demonstrated many of the things that historians have tended to belabor-the role of expertise, why despite their declining numbers, children have become so important socially, the new realm of consumption, how the anxiety about children has become a central matter in twentieth-century culture and even an identifier of American life. Stearns knows what is going on and that children are not a means to express other anxieties, but the very source of many of the anxieties we express.”
-Paula S. Fass,University of California, Berkeley
Review
“Stearns points to a number of contemporary phenomena, each of which he considers an expression of parental anxiety. Steans appears to be particularly sensitive to the upward mobility of kids grades.”
-The New York Review of Books,
Review
“The book is more than a synthesis of existing scholarship. It is a compendium of ideas - some personal, mostly scholarly - about the experience of parenting in the United States since the beginning of the twentieth century. The book is imaginative and thought provoking.”
-History of Education Quarterly ,
Review
“In what is his trademark style, Stearns creates an artful synthesis that is both revelatory and captivating. An at times unsettling analysis of parental angst, the book is replete with worthy insights for historians and contemporary parents alike.”
-The Journal of American History,
Review
“Anxiety is the hallmark of contemporary parenting. Todays parents are tormented by fears of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, child abductions, and juvenile drug and alcohol use. In perhaps his most timely and exciting book, Peter N. Stearns explains with wit and humane insight how modern mothers and fathers came to agonize incessantly about children's personality development, school performance, and psychological well-being.”
-Steven Mintz,University of Houston
Synopsis
Read Chapter One . Unlike other theorists, these people mean to change the world, not merely to 'ascertain how society organizes itself along racial lines and hierarchies, but to transform it for the better.' This book has served as my introduction to a field I wish I had started to cultivate and harvest much earlier. Bloomsbury Review For well over a decade, critical race theory the school of thought that holds that race lies at the very nexus of American life has roiled the legal academy. In recent years, however, the fundamental principles of the movement have influenced other academic disciplines, from sociology and politics to ethnic studies and history.And yet, while the critical race theory movement has spawned dozens of conferences and numerous books, no concise, accessible volume outlines its basic parameters and tenets. Here, then, from two of the founders of the movement, is the first primer on one of the most influential intellectual movements in American law and politics.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments xvForeword by Angela Harris xviiI Introduction 1A. What Is Critical Race Theory? 2B. Early Origins 3C. Relationship to Other Movements 4D. Principal Figures 5E. Spin-off Movements 6F. Basic Tenets of Critical Race Theory 6G. How Much Racism Is There in the World? 9H. Organization of This Book 11Questions and Comments for Chapter I 13Suggested Readings 14II Hallmark Critical Race Theory Themes 15A. Interest Convergence, MaterialDeterminism, and Racial Realism 16B. Revisionist History 20C. Critique of Liberalism 21D. Structural Determinism 251. Tools of Thought and the Dilemma ofLaw Reform 262. The Empathic Fallacy 27Classroom Exercise 293. Serving Two Masters 304.Race Remedies Law as aHomeostatic Device 31Questions and Comments for Chapter II 33Suggested Readings 34III Legal Storytelling and Narrative Analysis 37A. Opening a Window onto Ignored orAlternative Realities 39B. Counterstorytelling 42C. Cure for Silencing 43D. Storytelling in Court 45E. Storytelling on the Defensive 46Questions and Comments for Chapter III 47Suggested Readings 48IV Looking Inward 51A. Intersectionality 51B. Essentialism and Anti-Essentialism 56C. Nationalism versus Assimilation 59Classroom Exercise 63Questions and Comments for Chapter IV 64Suggested Readings 65V Power and the Shape of Knowledge 67A. The Black-White Binary 67B. Critical White Studies 74Classroom Exercise 80C. Other Developments: Latino and AsianCritical Thought, Critical RaceFeminism, Queer-Crit Theory 81Questions and Comments for Chapter V 84Suggested Readings 85VI Critiques and Responses to Criticism 87Classroom Exercise 95Questions and Comments for Chapter VI 97Suggested Readings 98VII Critical Race Theory Today 101A. The 1990s 101B. Capitalism on the Rampage 1021. Unmasking Color Blindness 1032. Race, Class, Welfare, and Poverty 1073. Globalization 111C. Power 113D. Identity 120Classroom Exercise 121Questions and Comments for Chapter VII 123Suggested Readings 125VIII Conclusion 129A. The Future 129B. A Critical Race Agenda for the New Century 131C. Likely Responses to Critical Race Theory 1331. Critical Race Theory Becomes theNew Civil Rights Orthodoxy 1332. Critical Race Theory Marginalizedand Ignored 1343. Critical Race Theory Analyzed, but Rejected 1344. Partial Incorporation 135Classroom Exercise 135Questions and Comments for Chapter VIII 137Suggested Readings 138Glossary of Terms 141Index157About the Authors 167
Synopsis
For well over a decade, critical race theorythe school of thought that holds that race lies at the very nexus of American lifehas roiled the legal academy. In recent years, however, the fundamental principles of the movement have influenced other academic disciplines, from sociology and politics to ethnic studies and history.
And yet, while the critical race theory movement has spawned dozens of conferences and numerous books, no concise, accessible volume outlines its basic parameters and tenets. Here, then, from two of the founders of the movement, is the first primer on one of the most influential intellectual movements in American law and politics.
Synopsis
For well over a decade, critical race theorythe school of thought that holds that race lies at the very nexus of American lifehas roiled the legal academy. In recent years, however, the fundamental principles of the movement have influenced other academic disciplines, from sociology and politics to ethnic studies and history.
And yet, while the critical race theory movement has spawned dozens of conferences and numerous books, no concise, accessible volume outlines its basic parameters and tenets. Here, then, from two of the founders of the movement, is the first primer on one of the most influential intellectual movements in American law and politics.
Synopsis
The nineteenth and twentieth centuries saw a dramatic shift in the role of children in American society and families. No longer necessary for labor, children became economic liabilities and twentieth-century parents exhibited a new level of anxiety concerning the welfare of their children and their own ability to parent effectively. What caused this shift in the ways parenting and childhood were experienced and perceived? Why, at a time of relative ease and prosperity, do parents continue to grapple with uncertainty and with unreasonable expectations of both themselves and their children?
Peter N. Stearns explains this phenomenon by examining the new issues the twentieth century brought to bear on families. Surveying popular media, *#8220;expert” childrearing manuals, and newspapers and journals published throughout the century, Stearns shows how schooling, physical and emotional vulnerability, and the rise in influence of commercialism became primary concerns for parents. The result, Stearns shows, is that contemporary parents have come to believe that they are participating in a culture of neglect and diminishing standards. Anxious Parents: A Modern History of Childrearing in America shows the reasons for this belief through an historic examination of modern parenting.
About the Author
Richard Delgado and
Jean Stefancic are Professors of Law at Seattle University and have collaborated on four previous books, including
The Latino Condition, 2d edition (NYU Press, 2010),
The Derrick Bell Reader (NYU Press, 2005
), How Lawyers Lose Their Way: A Profession Fails Its Creative Minds, and
Understanding Words That Wound.
Jean Stefancic, research professor of law at Seattle University, is the author of many articles and books on civil rights, law reform, social change, including No Mercy: How Conservative Think Tanks and Foundations Changed Americas Social Agenda.