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Race and the Law in the United States A Contemporary Perspective

Coming soon in July 2025

Authors

Michelle D. Deardorff
, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Description

This text explores how the legal history and judicial decisions of the United States contribute to the dynamic societal debates Americans are having around race today. It pairs historical cases and primary sources with contextual commentary, to ensure students comprehend how decisions from the past deeply impact the laws they have inherited as well as shaping contemporary issues and political movements. This framework also highlights the distinctive characteristics of the various time periods, and how they connect to other eras,…

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Key features

  • Challenges the usual focus of constitutional law teaching - doctrinal development of the law - by instead promoting an understanding of the legal concepts and dynamics that contribute to current societal debates around racial identities
  • Addresses aspects of racial discourse in the US that the law and existing law textbooks overlook, and explores key concepts such as federalism, sovereignty, liberty, and equality
  • Chapter discussion questions continuously connect the narrative and historical cases to present-day debates, while additional cases and questions available in the Instructor Manual can further these connections in class discussions and individual assessments
  • Avoids emotionally charged language, allowing the primary texts to speak for themselves, which in turn encourages students to form their own opinions on contemporary issues
  • Written in a conversational style to engage readers and better prepare them for the more formal and historical writing of primary texts

About the book

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