Love Match or Compatible in Theory?

Abstract

Abstract In this chapter, authors Tristin Green and Camille Gear Rich explore productive marriages between Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Queer Theory in legal scholars’ work in the United States. The chapter examines the blending of CRT and Queer Theory and also pays homage to the distinct histories and contributions of the two fields. The authors sketch the contours of each discipline in an account that highlights areas of agreement and disagreement, and they flesh out specific examples of shared methodology and cross-pollination between the fields, specifically (1) interconnectedness inquiries (including intersectionality and multidimensionality), (2) performativity analysis, and (3) discursive critique. They encourage scholars and readers to seek out productive intellectual spaces that willingly explore areas of friction between CRT and Queer Theory methods when these issues surface in scholars’ work. Successful coupling does not require that parties accept every aspect of another in a union—unorthodox methodological combinations between the two disciplines will produce novel insight and bear interesting fruit. To this end, the authors urge construction of productive spaces to explore differences and frictions and to deepen understanding of the operation of social power and barriers to social equality.