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Literary Research: Critical Race Theory
Literary Theory and Criticism
What is Critical Race Theory?
"Critical race theory (CRT) is a multidisciplinary academic construct that assembles strong arguments about the connection among race, law, and white supremacy. CRT originated during the 1970s and stemmed from the frustration many legal scholars felt about the failure of civil rights legislation to resolve the key issues of the Jim Crow era, adequately and appropriately." (African American Culture: An Encyclopedia of People, Traditions, and Customs)
Brief Overviews:
- Critical Race Theory (The Concise Oxford Companion to American Literature)
- Critical Race Theory (The New Oxford Companion to Law)
- Critical Race Theory (The Oxford Handbook of Feminist Philosophy)
- Critical Race Theory (Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History)
Notable Scholars:
- Crenshaw, Kimberlé Williams. Seeing Race Again: Countering Colorblindness Across the Disciplines. 1st ed., University of California Press, 2019.
- Crenshaw, Kimberle Williams. “Twenty Years of Critical Race Theory: Looking Back to Move Forward.” Connecticut Law Review, vol. 43, no. 5, 2011, p. 1253–.
Richard Delgado
- Delgado, Richard, and Jean Stefancic. Critical Race Theory : an Introduction. Third edition., New York University Press, 2017.
- Delgado, Richard. Justice at War : Civil Liberties and Civil Rights During Times of Crisis. New York University Press, 2003.
- Williams, Patricia J. The Alchemy of Race and Rights. Harvard University Press, 1991.
- Williams, Patricia J. Seeing a Color-Blind Future:the Paradox of Race. 1st American ed., Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998.
Adrien Katherine Wing
- Wing, Adrien Katherine, editor. Global Critical Race Feminism : an International Reader. New York University Press, 2000.
- Wing, Adrien Katherine. Critical Race Feminism : a Reader. 2nd ed. / foreword to 2nd ed. by Richard Delgado ; foreword to 1st ed. by Derrick Bell., New York University Press, 2003.
Introductions & Anthologies
Critical Race Theory by Publication Date: 2018This highly-readable primer on Critical Race Theory (CRT) examines the theory's basic commitments, strengths, and weaknesses. In addition to serving as a primary text for graduate and undergraduate Critical Race Theory seminars or courses on Race and the Law, it can also be assigned in courses on Antidiscrimination Law, Civil Rights, and Law and Society. The book can be used by any reader seeking to understand the relationship between constructions of race and the law.
Crossroads, Directions and a New Critical Race Theory by Publication Date: 2011Its opponents call it part of "the lunatic fringe," a justification for "black separateness," "the most embarrassing trend in American publishing." "It" is Critical Race Theory. But what is Critical Race Theory? How did it develop? Where does it stand now? Where should it go in the future? In this volume, thirty-one CRT scholars present their views on the ideas and methods of CRT, its role in academia and in the culture at large, and its past, present, and future. Critical race theorists assert that both the procedures and the substance of American law are structured to maintain white privilege. The neutrality and objectivity of the law are not just unattainable ideals; they are harmful actions that obscure the law's role in protecting white supremacy. This notion--so obvious to some, so unthinkable to others--has stimulated and divided legal thinking in this country and, increasingly, abroad.
Critical Race Theory Matters by Publication Date: 2011Over the past decade, Critical Race Theory (CRT) scholars in education have produced a significant body of work theorizing the impact of race and racism in education. Critical Race Theory Matters provides a comprehensive and accessible overview of this influential movement, shining its keen light on specific issues within education.
