An Excellent, Academic Introduction

I’m currently neither a proponent nor an opponent of critical race theory but I wanted to get an overview of the theory on its own terms. This book is a very accessible and detailed introduction. It has an academic style that seems to have been intended as a university textbook. As an introduction it is heavier on exposition than argument. I was pleased to find that it was more informative than persuasive in its presentation, mostly just presenting the issues and laying out the various positions on points of disagreements, both among critical race theorists and between critical race theorists and its critics.

12 people found this helpful

opens one eye while clising the other

Critical race theory can make you aware of various disadvantages suffered by various minority groups, especially American Blacks. However, it also promotes simplistic understandings of society: every phenomenon is understood in terms of relations of oppression and/or exploitation. When all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail. Major issues such as high levels of criminality and low academic achievement are left unaddressed; instead, there is much discussion of rates of incarceration and the alleged unfairness of conventional measures of academic achievement. Also, I sense a tendency to understand society in terms of a monolithic pyramid of increasing privilege with straight white men at its pinnacle.

3 people found this helpful

Good information

I should have been more diligent in reading the book description but I wasn’t. This was packed with good information but I didn’t realize it was a textbook. Not awesome as an audiobook.

Well read and very interesting

This was well read, and topic is cogent and timely. it seems to.me it's better to have a written copy, even if just to follow along. The book itself is clearly intended for a classroom environment.

Decent overview of CRT and good narrator

A good introduction to the ideas of CRT. The book even has a chapter on possible critiques of CRT that help the book “seem” impartial. However, for those who have listened here are some questions to ask yourself.

1. What dangers exist in making your core philosophy a critique of the dominant viewpoint?

2. CRT is critical of capitalism, rationalism, colorblindness and many other things. It is never critical of Marxism or Communism. In fact it mentions an influx of Marxist thinkers in a certain situation as a positive turn of events. Is CRT ever critical of Marxism? If not, why?

3. How viable is CRT outside the United States? What happens if you explain CRT to someone in a less privileged/dominant Country than yours and they disagree with you? Who is right? If you come from a western dominant culture, as does CRT, how does that dynamic effect the conversation?

4. Chapter 1 begins by saying that CRT deals with the situations where race “seems” to play a role in an interaction. Is there anyway to scientifically test this assumption? If not, what dangers exist with creating laws, policies, and culture beliefs that are based on a philosophy which sometimes draws from accurate data or assumptions but sometimes makes inaccurate assumptions?


Chapter 1 begins by suggesting there are instances where race “seems” to play a role in the way a POC is treated and these are