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In The Shadow Of Gaslight: Reflections On Identity, Diversity, And The Distribution Of Power In The Academy, Cyra Akila Choudhury Jan 2017

In The Shadow Of Gaslight: Reflections On Identity, Diversity, And The Distribution Of Power In The Academy, Cyra Akila Choudhury

Faculty Publications

This essay explores identity and diversity in the Academy through the work of feminist philosopher, Sara Ahmed. It makes two interventions. First, it sketches the use of identity politics from the 1980s and 1990s as a tool of resistance against assimilation and erasure to its current uses sometimes as a tool of discipline within minority groups. Second, it raises the problem of the cooptation of identity by institutions to maintain the status quo. In the hands of institutions and as a metric for progress, diversity can mask ongoing subordination and create doubt in the minds of minorities about whether what …


Race, Rhetoric, And Judicial Opinions: Missouri As A Case Study, Brad Desnoyer, Anne Alexander Jan 2017

Race, Rhetoric, And Judicial Opinions: Missouri As A Case Study, Brad Desnoyer, Anne Alexander

Faculty Publications

This Essay studies the relationship between race, rhetoric, and history in three twentieth century segregation cases: State ex rel. Gaines v. Canada, Kraemer v. Shelley, and Liddell v. Board of Education. Part I gives a brief overview of the scholarship of Critical Race Theory, majoritarian narratives and minority counter-narratives, and the judiciary’s rhetoric in race-based cases. Part II analyzes the narratives and language of Gaines, Kraemer, and Liddell, provides the social context of these cases, and traces their historical outcomes.

The Essay contends that majoritarian narratives with problematic themes continue to perpetuate even though court opinions have evolved to use …


Nearsighted And Colorblind: The Perspective Problems Of Police Deadly Force Cases, Jelani Jefferson Exum Jan 2017

Nearsighted And Colorblind: The Perspective Problems Of Police Deadly Force Cases, Jelani Jefferson Exum

Faculty Publications

In dealing with the recently publicized instances of police officers' use of deadly force, some reform efforts have been focused on the entities that are central to the successful prosecutions of police–the prosecutor and the grand jury. Some have suggested special, independent prosecutors for these cases so that the process of deciding whether to seek charges against police officers remains untainted by the necessary cooperative relationship between the police department and the prosecutor's office. Others have urged more transparency in the grand jury process so that the public can scrutinize a prosecutor's efforts in presenting evidence for an indictment. Still …