Critical Race Theory: Origins and Varieties

Abstract

In this chapter, I begin by briefly tracing the relationship between postmodernism, transmodernism and Critical Race Theory (CRT) with respect to the voices of the Other. I go on to examine CRT’s historical origins in Critical Legal Studies (CLS) noting how CRT was in part a response to the perception that CLS analyses were too class-based and underestimated ‘race’, which for Critical Race Theorists is the major form of oppression in society. I conclude by underlining the pivotal relationship between CRT and the law by outlining a pioneering article by two of CRT’s most influential writers in the field of education.