191-310 Law, Justice and Cultural Diversity

Completion of 37.5 points of second year socio-legal studies including 166-215 Rights and the Law and 191-210 Theories of Law and Society.

This subject will examine the ways in which law can be seen as both an instrument of positive social change and yet also as a means of confirming existing social arrangements and resisting social change. It will investigate both theoretical perspectives on law, justice and the community and a series of case studies concerning the struggles for access to justice and involvement in legal processes and institutions by particular groups and individuals. It will look at a selection of issues such as gender politics, ethnicity, race, indigenous politics, sexual orientation, class and economic struggles, social dissent, non-English speaking background individuals.

Written work totalling 4000 words. An examination may be substituted for part of the assessment.