The University of New South Wales

go to UNSW home page

Handbook Home

PRINT THIS PAGE
Law, Constitutionalism and Cultural Difference - LAWS8290
Law Books

 
Faculty: Faculty of Law
 
 
School:  Faculty of Law
 
 
Course Outline: See below
 
 
Campus: Kensington Campus
 
 
Career: Postgraduate
 
 
Units of Credit: 6
 
 
EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)
 
 
Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 2
 
 
Enrolment Requirements:
 
 
Prerequisite: Academic Program must be either 9200, 9210, 5740 or 9230
 
 
Fee Band: 3 (more info)
 
 
Further Information: See Class Timetable
 
 

Description

To what extent should Australian law accommodate the cultural practices of migrant communities? Is international human rights law distinctively western, insufficiently sensitive to "Asian values"? How should cultural minorities be accommodated within the constitutions of ethnically diverse states? This course examines these and other problems, exploring the justifications for cultural accommodation, examining the arguments for and against accommodation, and attempting to assess when and how accommodation is justified. We will apply these theoretical arguments in a range of case studies - ethnic conflict in Fiji; the accommodation of indigenous customary law in Australia and Canada; public schools versus religious schools; the debate over "Asian values"; South African constitutional reform; and others.


LLM Specialisation

Human Rights and Social Justice.

Recommended Prior Knowledge

None

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, you should have obtained:
  • A clear sense of the challenges of cultural accommodation, understanding the complexity of identity, the tensions and complementarities between individual and group approaches, the impact of entrenched power (and ways to respond to that impact), and the challenges posed for cultural recognition by the internal diversity, external connections, and change over time of groups
  • A set of theoretical tools for understanding and (one hopes) beginning to resolve these issues
  • An understanding of a range of institutional and legal responses to cultural difference
  • A grasp of the linkages between complexity, justification, and accommodation in a number of case studies, particularly the case on which you write your paper

Assessment

Class participation Preparation and engagement in class 20%
Term paper 6,000 - 8,000 words 80%
 

Course Texts

Prescribed
A course pack will be provided that contains the readings that you will have to prepare for the class sessions and will also form foundational materials for your paper.

Recommended
None

Resources

A course pack will be provided that contains the readings that you will have to prepare for the class sessions and will also form foundational materials for your paper.

URL for this page:

© The University of New South Wales (CRICOS Provider No.: 00098G), 2004-2011. The information contained in this Handbook is indicative only. While every effort is made to keep this information up-to-date, the University reserves the right to discontinue or vary arrangements, programs and courses at any time without notice and at its discretion. While the University will try to avoid or minimise any inconvenience, changes may also be made to programs, courses and staff after enrolment. The University may also set limits on the number of students in a course.