Between Hercules and Orpheus: Race and Legal Institutionalism
Race; Legal Institutionalism; Representation; Neoconstitutionalism; Critical Race Theory
This study investigates the relationship between race and the legal institutionalism. It analyzes how the justice system, particularly the Supreme Federal Court, engages with racial issues. The dissertation employs the mythological figures of Hercules and Orpheus as explanatory metaphors for this relationship and this interaction. The research examines the neoconstitutionalist doctrine, the concept of institutional racism, and the theoretical assumptions of Critical Race Theory. Furthermore, it addresses the subjective composition of the Federal Supreme Court and the explanatory potential of representation theories when applied to the context of the Judiciary. In this sense, it combines a critical-qualitative approach with explanatory-bibliographical research. As a conclusion, it advocates for the necessity of a racial-democratic revolution in justice, proposing theoretical and institutional reforms to enhance the access of racialized groups to legal institutionalism.