Critical race theory
Focus on issues of identity and representation in texts and analyze the cultural traditions of marginalized populations. Critical race theory attempts to expose the assumptions held within dominant discourses and how these are represented in texts. Of the several tenants of Critical Race Theory, one major is that racism is embedded in every aspect of American society. Cultural studies theory also investigates how culture (art, music, literature, every day aspects of life, behaviors, ways of speaking, worship, holidays, etc.) creates and transforms individual experiences, everyday social life, and power relationships it operates under the assumption that individuals make culture, but culture also makes individuals and ask questions. Critical Race Theory focuses on issues of identity and representation in texts and and analyze the cultural traditions of marginalized populations. Critical Race Theory attempts to expose the assumptions held within dominant discourses and how these are represented in texts. Of the several tenants of Critical Race Theory, one major one is that racism is embedded in every aspect of American society. Unlike the traditional Civil Rights movements, which embrace incrementalism and step-by-step progress, Critical Race Theory questions the very foundations of the liberal order, including equality theory, legal reasoning, rationalism, and constitutional law. It started as a movement in the law in the mid-1970s, but has spread beyond that discipline to other academic and sociological disciplines.
A FEW BASIC TENETS OF CRITICAL RACE THEORY
HOW WE UTILIZE CRITICAL RACE THEORY
A FEW BASIC TENETS OF CRITICAL RACE THEORY
- Racism is ordinary not aberrational (something unusual or unexpected); oppression is multifaceted
- Racism is the common, everyday experience of most people of color in this country
- Racism is a permanent, defining component of American Life
- Racism is difficult to cure or address
- Critical Race Theory challenges the claim of neutrality, objectivity, colorblindness, and meritocracy in society
- Race matters, as it affects opportunities, perceptions, income, and so much more
- Asserts that the experimental knowledge of people of color is appropriate, legitimate, and an integral part to analyzing and understanding racial inequality
- "Naming one's own reality" - using narrative to illuminate and explore experiences of racial oppression
- Critical Race Theory is a framework that is committed to a social justice agenda to eliminate all forms of subordination of people
- Calls for an active role for all scholars in working toward "eliminating racial oppression as a broad goal of ending all forms of oppression"
HOW WE UTILIZE CRITICAL RACE THEORY
- Examining issues around race, racial identity, and racism
- Exploring existing structures of power and privilege
- Exploring counter narratives from marginalized racial identities
- Recognize that there is not one simplistic, unitary identity