Critical Race Theory in England

Critical Race Theory (CRT) explains and challenges the persistence of racial discrimination throughout the world today, addressing issues such as racism, post-colonialism and systems of apartheid. Despite claims we live in a post-racial era, equality laws are under threat in the UK and evidence of racism persists in life and work.

This collection is the result of ongoing work in this area by a group of UK based academics: the CRT in the UK discussion group, convened by Namita Chakrabarty, John Preston and Lorna Roberts. The aim of this book is to examine the practical application of CRT within a specifically English context. Encompassing a range of fields, from education to civil defense, it considers the tools and techniques of CRT (including CRT feminist thought), from counter-narrative to the role of political positioning, but above all it analyzes the workings of on-going racism within English institutions and structures.

Key aspects of post- 9/11 culture are also critiqued and explored, including an analysis of Islamophobia and antiracism, how counter-terror measures may reinforce racist beliefs, the role of race and the BME academic, and the manipulation of race in debates surrounding education and class. These new perspectives offer greater insight into the crucial area of race without which any understanding of 21st century England is incomplete.

This book was originally published as a special issue of Race, Ethnicity and Education.