Gardens of justice: Critical legal education: perspectives and methods

Most law degree courses start with one or more introductory course to law. It is within these courses that students get acquainted with law, where it comes from, what it does and how a legal system is organised and structured. Usually, the focus is on positive law – the existing law of the particular jurisdiction in which the student is studying law. It means that introduction to law courses are really introduction to current Dutch positive law, English positive law, etc.

This stream seeks to explore the ideas behind such courses. It does so on the presumption that in these courses the tone is (or can be/should be) set as regards the academic attitude we expect from students: an inquisitive, critical perspective on law, what it is and what it does. What are the perspectives taken on law in these courses and what methods are explored in teaching students to study law inquisitively and critically? Is it by contextualising law through social theory (the age of technology in modernity, post-modernity, liquid modernity, second modernity?), through emphasising a philosophical basis of law and how law pertains to power structures and the political? Is there a shared critical pedagogical ideology within critical legal studies and if so how could it be formulated?

These are some of the questions this stream seeks to explore. In doing so, the stream builds upon the experiences shared in Wales last year. So far, the stream plans two sessions so far. In the first session papers will be presented on a variety of topics, pertaining the perspectives and methods of teaching. The second session is an open session, meant to exchange ideas on teaching, curriculum, course content and related issues.

Convenor: Ubaldus de Vries (Utrecht University, the Netherlands), [email protected]