Feminist Epistemologies and a Law in Context Jurisprudence Course: A New Zealand Experience

• Main Author: Nan Seuffert
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bond University
• Series: Legal Education Review
• Online Access: http://ler.scholasticahq.com/article/6042-feminist-epistemologies-and-a-law-in-context-jurisprudence-course-a-new-zealand-experience.pdf

I wish to focus on developments in feminist epistemology, or theories of knowledge and knowledge creation, and how they relate to teaching. I will first discuss the feminist epistemologies that have influenced my teaching. Then I will focus on how feminist epistemology influenced the design, the substance and the methods of teaching a law-in-context Jurisprudence course at the University of Waikato. As the title suggests, mine is a New Zealand experience, and the perspective of an American who has been in New Zealand for four years. This essay is an attempt to think through some of my experiences in New Zealand in light of my North American theoretical background. I hope that presenting my experiences will stimulate thinking from Australian perspectives.