Lessons from a Study of Diversity and Equality in Legal Education.

Methodology, Findings and Relevance for Teaching

Abstract

The article summarises and elaborates a norm-critical and intersectional study of the legal education in Gothenburg, and reflects on the broader pedagogical project of discussing the study among the faculty. A norm-critical perspective seeks to critically examine what is taken for granted and perceived as normal, and subsequently what is perceived as exceptions. An intersectional perspective acknowledges power structures as complex social structures with diverse origins. Together they provide a useful tool for analysing how different social positions are represented in the assignments of the legal education. The study showed, among other things, that men, Nordic people, adults and people from middle and upper class were overrepresented compared to the Swedish society as a whole. The study resulted in important discussions at the Department of Law in Gothenburg on whether representation matters, and if so what should be done. The article seeks to present the study itself and the theoretical thinking behind the study, and to discuss possible ways of dealing with its results.