Preliminary Reflections on Teaching about Ethnic Minorities in Law

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Abstract

This article presents some reflections on approaches adopted and experiences of being involved in teaching the field of Ethnic Minorities and the Law. In the first section some of the reactions that are likely to be encountered when working in this area are discussed briefly. In the second part of the paper the nature and extent of ethnic diversity in the UK are outlined, and some of the limits in academic and policy conceptualisations of this diversity are highlighted. There follows a critical discussion of the various paradigms within which legal knowledge has framed discussion relating to ethnic minorities in the UK. This forms a prelude to the introduction of legal-pluralist perspectives which, it is argued, offer the most positive approach in the area of ethnic minority legal studies. Lastly, some of the practical issues that arise in teaching about ethnic minorities in law are discussed.