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Civil Rights and Discrimination

Identity politics

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Full-Text Articles in Legal History

New Complexity Theories: From Theoretical Innovation To Doctrinal Reform, Darren Lenard Hutchinson Jan 2002

New Complexity Theories: From Theoretical Innovation To Doctrinal Reform, Darren Lenard Hutchinson

UF Law Faculty Publications

During the latter part of the twentieth century, progressive scholars in various fields of study have developed a large body of works analyzing identity politics. Within legal scholarship, critical race, feminist, anti-heterosexist, and other progressive theorists have demonstrated how legal doctrines and policies perpetuate social hierarchy and reinforce the domination of oppressed classes. The efforts of progressive scholars (and activists) to launch a unified critique of injustice, however, has proved difficult - due in part to the variety of theoretical and doctrinal options available to counter subordination and also to the intractable nature of institutionalized oppression. Yet, progressive scholars have …


Beyond The Rhetoric Of “Dirty Laundry”: Examining The Value Of Internal Criticism Within Progressive Social Movements And Oppressed Communities, Darren Lenard Hutchinson Oct 1999

Beyond The Rhetoric Of “Dirty Laundry”: Examining The Value Of Internal Criticism Within Progressive Social Movements And Oppressed Communities, Darren Lenard Hutchinson

UF Law Faculty Publications

Several historical reasons explain opposition to the airing of internal criticism by scholars and activists within progressive social movements and by members of subordinate communities. Opponents often contend that such criticism might reinforce negative stereotypes of subordinate individuals and that reactionary movements and activists might appropriate and misuse negative portrayals of the oppressed. A related fear holds that internal criticism will dismantle political unity within oppressed communities and progressive social movements, thereby forestalling social change. While these concerns provide some context for understanding the resistance to internal criticism within progressive social movements, I argue in this essay that they do …