Feminist legal theory
- Course Code:
- 15PLAH027
- Unit value:
- 0.5
- Taught in:
- Term 1
The first part of the course on feminist legal theory will introduce students to feminist methods of legal reasoning, analysis and critique. The second part of the course will introduce students to the various schools of Anglo-American and post colonial feminist legal theory including, radical feminism, cultural feminism, materialist feminism, critical race feminism, dalit feminism and related areas of scholarship such as queer theory. Students will engage in close readings of canonical texts from each of these schools of feminist legal theory while drawing on feminist theory more broadly to the extent necessary.
In the third part of the course, students will be introduced to the application of feminist legal theory to concrete feminist struggles for law reform. There will be three areas of focus including violence against women, the economic rights of women and issues of international law relating to women. Readings will be drawn predominantly but not only from legal scholarship. In studying violence against women, the course will address in particular rape, pornography, sexual harassment, caste-based violence and prostitution. In considering the economic rights of women, we will study issues of the care work of women, including housework and child care. With respect to international legal issues, we will look in particular on feminist legal reforms on war crimes and trafficking.
The fourth and final part of the course will deal briefly with the relationship of women's movements and processes of law reform. We will investigate in particular conventional strategies for law reform such as litigation and lobbying for statutory law reform as well as emerging patterns of what has been labelled 'governance feminism'.
Objectives and learning outcomes of the course
Objectives
The objective of the course is to enable students to become well versed in the canonical texts of Anglo-American and postcolonial feminist legal theory.
The course will supplement existing courses in the LLM program which undertake a critical and contextual study of the law in the developing world. The course will enhance this focus through the rigorous study of feminist legal theory.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course, a student should be able to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the theoretical insights of different schools of feminist legal theory and their application to concrete feminist struggles for law reform. The course will familiarise students with a range of theoretical perspectives covering the major schools of feminist legal theory including radical feminism, cultural feminism, materialist feminism, critical race feminism, postcolonial feminism and queer theory as applied to specific issues including violence against women, the economic rights of women (the care/work debates) and issues involving international law (war crimes and trafficking). Students will not only gain a general understanding of the field of feminist legal scholarship but also write a substantial paper on a feminist legal issue of their choice.
Workload
One 2 hour lecture per week for 10 weeks.
Method of assessment
Assessment weighting: 100% coursework (one 5,000 word essay)
All coursework may be resubmitted.
