Synopses & Reviews
The status of civil rights in the United States today is as volatile an issue as ever, with many Americans wondering if new laws, implemented after the events of September 11, restrict more people than they protect. How will efforts to eradicate racism, sexism, and xenophobia be affected by the measures our government takes in the name of protecting its citizens?
Richard Delgado, one of the founding figures in the Critical Race Theory movement, addresses these problems with his latest book in the award-winning Rodrigo Chronicles. Employing the narrative device he and other Critical Race theorists made famous, Delgado assembles a cast of characters to discuss such urgent and timely topics as race, terrorism, hate speech, interracial relationships, freedom of speech, and new theories on civil rights stemming from the most recent war.
In the course of this new narrative, Delgado provides analytical breakthroughs, offering new civil rights theories, new approaches to interracial romance and solidarity, and a fresh analysis of how whiteness and white privilege figure into the debate on affirmative action. The characters also discuss the black/white binary paradigm of race and show why it persists even at a time when the country's population is rapidly diversifying.
Review
“This is narrative scholarship of the highest quality. Justice at War addresses a far-ranging set of topical social issues of our times, from affirmative action to hate speech to (in)justice toward noncitizens during times of war. Accessible, well-written, and deeply insightful, Justice at War represents the most creative and thoughtful, if not brilliant, installment of the Rodrigo Chronicles so far.”
-Kevin Johnson,University of California at Davis
Review
“Delgado raises important questions that most American studies scholarship ignores because of its narrow focus. Delgados use of fiction and dialogue allows him to model a fairly broad, interdisciplinary conversation about contemporary issues that all too often is absent in much scholarly work.”
-American Studies,
Review
“Delgado’s analysis is fresh and thought provoking.”
Review
“Worth reading. The author genuinely loves ideas and avidly seeks racial justice. Infected by his enthusiasm, the reader may well be tempted to learn more about the important issues Delgado raises-an outcome that he would surely welcome.”
-New York Law Journal,
Review
“Delgados analysis is fresh and thought provoking.”
-The Law and Politics Book Review,
Synopsis
While world history materials date back to prehistoric times, the field itself is relatively young. Indeed, when the first edition of Peter Stearns's best-selling
World History in Documents was published in 1998, world history was poised for explosive growth, with the College Board approving the AP world history curriculum in 2000, and the exam shortly thereafter. At the university level, survey world history courses are increasingly required for history majors, and graduate programs in world history are multiplying in the U.S. and overseas.
World events have changed as rapidly as the field of world history itself, making the long-awaited second edition of World History in Documents especially timely. In addition to including a new preface, focusing on current trends in the field, Stearns has updated forty percent of the textbook, paying particular attention to global processes throughout history. The book also covers key events that have altered world history since the publication of the first edition, including terrorism, global consumerism, and environmental issues.
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.
Jennifer Hochschild is Professor of Government at Harvard University.