Feminist Judging and legal theory

TY - JOUR

T1 - Feminist Judging and legal theory

AU - Hunter, Caroline Margaret

AU - Fitzpatrick, Ben James Andrew

PY - 2012/12

Y1 - 2012/12

N2 - The Feminist Judgments Project involved the writing of alternative feminist judgments in significant legal cases. This article describes how the project was used to introduce students in a legal philosophy module to the ideas sitting behind the project, i.e. that there could be a distinctively feminist approach to judgment writing and that such an approach could be legitimate. One of the aims of the module is to explore critical accounts of the law. Briefly outlining the content of the module, we then focus on two particular facets of this content: the role of judgments in the module, and the issue of where feminist judging sits within this. We then go on to consider a particular activity we have developed for use in the class, which involves students seeking to identify the gender of the judges involved, and the distinctions (if any) between judgments. Finally we reflect on how the students have used this activity within their own summatively assessed work for the module. As we proceed, we refer to our experience of bringing the Feminist Judgments Project into our work, and the extent to which we think it has been successful.

AB - The Feminist Judgments Project involved the writing of alternative feminist judgments in significant legal cases. This article describes how the project was used to introduce students in a legal philosophy module to the ideas sitting behind the project, i.e. that there could be a distinctively feminist approach to judgment writing and that such an approach could be legitimate. One of the aims of the module is to explore critical accounts of the law. Briefly outlining the content of the module, we then focus on two particular facets of this content: the role of judgments in the module, and the issue of where feminist judging sits within this. We then go on to consider a particular activity we have developed for use in the class, which involves students seeking to identify the gender of the judges involved, and the distinctions (if any) between judgments. Finally we reflect on how the students have used this activity within their own summatively assessed work for the module. As we proceed, we refer to our experience of bringing the Feminist Judgments Project into our work, and the extent to which we think it has been successful.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84871313777&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1080/03069400.2012.737250

DO - 10.1080/03069400.2012.737250

M3 - Article

VL - 46

SP - 255

EP - 267

JO - The Law Teacher

JF - The Law Teacher

SN - 0306-9400

IS - 3

ER -