Document Type
Article
Abstract
In Americanah, the 2013 novel by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, there is a scene when one of the characters, Laura, speaks of her Ugandan classmate who did not get along with an African-American colleague. Laura is surprised as, for her, all persons of color are similar, with no understanding for their differences in background, personal stories and experiences. The novel depicts and critiques this very categorization of race, which flattens differences, conflating groups and individuals who might share very little, if anything. For a long time, law (with its stipulations, precedents and rulings) has operated in a similar manner, disengaging or even obliterating any understanding of racial differences, as pointed out by Kimberlé Crenshaw in her seminal article published in 1989.
Having Americanah as a starting point, I will discuss whether intersectionality can multiply legal perspectives of race, and thus, avoid conflict and misunderstandings. I will also make use of Luce Irigaray’s concept of „speaking (as) woman” (parler femme), understood here as „speaking (as) race” (parler race), that is considering that „law is profoundly a social phenomenon”[1], and a „cultural product by excellence”[2]. As such, products of law are not neutral. They shape our narratives and, most importantly, they seriously impact our lives
Recommended Citation
Ignatoiu Sora, Emanuela
(2024)
"Conflict and race in literature & law. The case of Americanah,"
Comparative Woman: Vol. 2:
Iss.
2, Article 7.
Available at:
https://repository.lsu.edu/comparativewoman/vol2/iss2/7
Included in
Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Human Rights Law Commons, Social Justice Commons
