CFP: Gardens of justice: Critical legal education: perspectives and methods

Submission deadline: September 14, 2012

Conference date(s):
September 14, 2012 - September 16, 2012

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Conference Venue:

Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan
Stockholm, Sweden

Topic areas

Details

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.

Topics for papers and the open discussion:

A. How to introduce law?

  • As a narrative as well as or instead of a system of rules (with its doctrinal research method)?
  • As an arena of dissent and power?
  • As a means of emancipation

B. Methodology:

  • Law and … movements
  • Doctrinal research method

C. Pedagogy and didactics:

  • Socratic
  • Case study method (see JBW)
  • Self-study
  • Anarchic education: self-organisation and control

Please contact Dr. mr U.R.M.Th. de Vries ([email protected]) if you seek to present a paper on any of the topics described above or when you want to partake in the open session. (A report on the open session last year will follow to provide some information on the topics discussed in Wales).

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

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