SOSC 3375 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Critical Race Theory, Critical Legal Studies, Individual And Group Rights
7 Dec 2018
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Key themes: social construction of race/racialization, colorblind/formal equality. Legal liberalism: individual= base unit, community = compilation of individuals, instrumental politics, limited purpose of political activity, freedom of individuals, rule of law, formalism, neutrality, abstraction, individual rights. "crits" challenge 5 tenets of legal liberalism: rule of law is a myth: distinction between law and politics doesn"t exist. No equal standard for everyone: law is indeterminate, law is not neutral: most dominant groups in society, control the morality. Therefore, most judges are part of that group. Interest convergence/material determinism: when the interest of the powerful= change: crt sees rights as "invigorating cloaks of safety that unite us in a common bond, emphasis on solutions, law is both a product and promoter of racism. Crt: historical context: born from the civil rights movement (50-60s, formal equality, everyone should be entitled to equality of opportunity, in this way, law= colorblind, need more than rights to end discrimination.
