LatCrit: From Critical Legal Theory to Academic Activism

by Francisco Valdes, Steven W. Bender

Overview

Examines LatCrit’s emergence as a scholarly and activist community within and beyond the US legal academy

Emerging from the US legal academy in 1995, LatCrit theory is a genre of critical outsider jurisprudence—a vital hub of contemporary scholarship that includes Feminist Legal Theory and Critical Race Theory, among other critical schools of legal knowledge. Its basic goals have been: (1) to develop a critical, activist, and inter-disciplinary discourse on law and society affecting Latinas/os/x, and (2) to foster both the development of coalitional theory and practice as well as the accessibility of this knowledge to agents of social and legal transformative change.

This slim volume tells the story of LatCrit’s growth and influence as a scholarly and activist community. Francisco Valdes and Steven W. Bender offer a living example of how critical outsider academics can organize long-term collective action, both in law and society, that will help those similarly inclined to better organize themselves. Part roadmap, part historical record, and part a path forward, LatCrit: From Critical Legal Theory to Academic Activismshows that with coalition, collaboration, and community, social transformation can take root.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781479809325
Publisher:	New York University Press
Publication date:	06/15/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Francisco Valdes (Author)
Francisco Valdes is Professor of Law and Dean's Distinguished Scholar at University of Miami School of Law. Considered the “father” of LatCrit, he is the author of numerous law review articles and the co-editor of an acclaimed collection of essays on the history of Critical Race Theory, entitled Crossroads, Directions, and a New Critical Race Theory (Temple University Press 2002).

Steven W. Bender (Author)
Steven W. Bender is Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Planning and Strategic Initiatives at Seattle University School of Law. He is the author of Mea Culpa: Lessons on Law and Regret from US History (NYU Press, 2015), Run for the Border: Vice and Virtue in U.S.-Mexico Border Crossings (NYU Press, 2012), Tierra y Libertad: Land, Liberty, and Latino Housing (NYU Press, 2010), and Greasers and Gringos: Latinos, Law, and the American Imagination (NYU Press, 2003).

Table of Contents

Foreword: The Gran Trecho That Is LatCrit Margaret E. Montoya ix

Preface xxi

1 Background and Origins: "LatCrit" 1

2 Foundations: LatCrit Values and Guiding Principles 7

3 LatCrit Contributions to OutCrit Jurisprudence: Five Substantive Highlights 26

4 Community and Method: Building Zones of Critical Safety 35

5 LatCrit Praxis: Personal, Collective, and "Glocal" 70

6 Critical Pedagogy: Transforming Legal Education and Targeting Systemic Injustice 79

7 Designing and Sustaining Self-Governance: Theory, Digital Presence, and Bricks and Mortar 91

8 Looking Ahead: Staying Nimble Yet Grounded 107

Afterword: El Espiritu de Resistencia Sumi Cho Angela P. Harris 115

Acknowledgments 127

General Discussion Questions 129

Appendix A LatCrit Self-Study 131

Appendix B LatCrit Annual/Biennial Conference Publications, 1996-2020 133

Appendix C International and Comparative Law Colloquium Publications, 1996-2020 135

Appendix D South-North Exchange Publications, 2003-2020 137

Appendix E Study Space Publications, 2007-2020 139

Appendix F Free-standing Symposium Publications and Books 141

Appendix G LatCrit Scholarship Research Toolkit Thematic Index-List of Themes 143

Appendix H Excerpt from Mission Statement for Living Justice Institute at Campo Sano 145

Notes 147

Further Readings 183

Index 185

About the Authors 189

Editorial Reviews

"Valdes and Bender have performed an amazing service; not only have they summarized and amplified the mission of Critical Race Theory in its expression as LatCrit, but they have provided access to a methodology of grounded and engaged scholarship. This is significant work."

Gerald Torres

"Many have been waiting for just such a comprehensive history of the emergence and flourishing of LatCrit. Built into the legal writings is the collective development of an intellectual movement spurring academic activism."

Mary Romero

"A must-read. Whether you have never read LatCrit literature or are an aficionado, there is much to savor in its transnational and multidimensional approach. The book reflects and celebrates LatCrit’s twenty-five-year commitment to theory, community, pedagogy, and praxis, reinforcing the importance of community building and intellectual evolution."

Adrien K. Wing