Law and Race Commons^™

Race And Essentialism In Gloria Steinem, Frank Rudy Cooper

Scholarly Works

In this article, Professor Frank Rudy Cooper reflects on Angela Harris's essay Race and Essentialism in Feminist Legal Theory.. Harris is one of the foremost law professors in the country. She has co-written or coedited several important critical race theory and feminist theory casebooks as well as a casebook for a first-year course. This particular essay is one of the most cited critical race theory pieces ever, having been referred to in at least 796 articles. Professor Cooper joins a group of distinguished peers, describing the power Harris' work has on them now and when they were developing scholars.

Surveillance And Identity Performance: Some Thoughts Inspired By Martin Luther King, Frank Rudy Cooper

Scholarly Works

In this article, Professor Frank Cooper explores self-actualization, the process whereby people create their own identity by means of experimenting with different behaviors, in the context of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the FBI surveillance he was subjected to in the time leading up to his death. He argues that it is possible for people to live in an environment that is more or less alienating to the way in which they perform their identities. Performativity scholars such as Devon Carbado and Mitu Gulati say that people can have an internal sense of self that is distinct from the identity …

Understanding "Depolicing": Symbiosis Theory And Critical Cultural Theory, Frank Rudy Cooper

Scholarly Works

Doctrinal analyses help us understand what law does. Identity theory helps us understand why law operates in certain ways. Cultural studies can help us understand that where law operates is crucial to both how it operates, and on whom.

Nancy Ehrenreich's Subordination and Symbiosis: Mechanisms of Mutual Support Between Subordinating Systems is especially valuable because her symbiosis theory expands identity theory. Ehrenreich turns our attention to the subjectivities of those who are partly subordinated but mostly privileged-those who accept their own oppression in return for the "compensation" of being able to use the law to subordinate others. Nonetheless, symbiosis theory …