Where Is Your Body? CL

Georgetown law professor Matsuda is one of the leading exponents of critical race theory, the radical school of minority scholars who use storytelling and other unconventional techniques to undermine ""neutral principles"" that serve to enforce racial hierarchy. As a coauthor of Words That Wound, she has written in detail about curbing ""hate speech."" Here, however, her contributions are mostly lectures and speeches, mainly addressed to the already sympathetic, and they often lack detail. Nevertheless, Matsuda's essay ""When the First Quail Calls"" has become popular with law students; in it, she recommends ""multiple consciousness,"" a deliberate decision ""to see the world from the standpoint of the oppressed."" Her lectures on property law and criminal law note that women's concerns have often been ignored. The title essay reminds activists to follow their rhetoric with concrete action. Regarding hate speech, Matsuda cogently attacks the current Supreme Court distinction between content and presentation, but her proposed distinction--regulate against ""the choice to subordinate others""--raises questions in itself, given the impossibility of protecting people from psychological attack. A final section on Asian issues includes the useful point that, while Asians may decry affirmative action in college admissions, they may require it in workplace situations. If Matsuda's leftism is not convincing (crime is simply ""a product of social injustice""), her consciousness-raising, in which she asks people what they do when they hear racist or sexist comments, is a useful exercise for all. (Dec.)