The Modern American

Our Mission

Our mission is based on the fact that today we live in a time where the  lines that separate issues of race,  ethnicity, class, sexuality, gender, and ability are rapidly moving  closer together. Intersectionality is no  longer an academic insight, but a lived reality for those who often experience marginality. As an  increasingly diverse society the meanings of legal issues can long er be isolated to sound bites like  “  blacks  vs. whites, ”  “liberal vs. conservative,”  or  “women vs. men. ”   We, at  The Modern American , have initiated  a discussion about the issues that affect systemically marginalized people, marginalized experiences and  voices, as well as the complexity within marginalized communities themselves, with a track-record of  publishing articles offering unique perspectives and analysis  of diversity and the law. It is our belief that  issues of race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, gender and ability  are lens that are not reserved to any  particular ideology — our philosophy is to provide an incisive and critical look into these issues from a  variety of perspectives.

“We, at  The Modern American, have initiated  a discussion about the issues that affect systemically marginalized people”

Vision

The Modern American is not a traditional scholarly law publication that is limited to technical, sometimes esoteric discussion of legal issues. Our publication believes legal writing must examine political, historical, and social contexts, to engage in complex and full legal analysis. TMA publishes legislative updates, book essays, interviews, conference reports, and other legal happenings, in addition to scholarly articles and essays that are relevant to people pushing for legal and social change.

Equally important, we aim to be accessible to a broad audience. Our articles are shorter and plainly written compared to traditional law publications. Similarly, our published issues are available online, in print by free subscription, and are archived in every major law database, including Hein Online, LexisNexis, Westlaw, and the Index to Legal Periodicals & Books. As a platform for traditionally under-represented scholarship, voices and views, we make an effort to publish cutting-edge work by students, emerging scholars, practitioners, and non-traditional scholarship and commentary by established legal minds and advocates. 

TMA is one of the leading publications in the country on diversity and the law, and it continues to expand in its readership and visibility across the world.