Upholding the racial hierarchy: the so-called perspectivelessness of legal study skills

Legal education is premised upon the reproduction of colonial power dynamics that embed Eurocentric conceptions of rights, justice and indeed, of what law is as seemingly neutral, objective and universal. Skills such as how to read and analyse cases and legal arguments, and write essays are typically assumed to be bias and value free, however, these are in fact, rooted in upholding an uncritically Eurocentric approach to the question of what law is that necessarily obstructs the decolonisation of law's curriculum, and thus, of the narrative of law. The aims of a law curriculum are necessarily and purposefully contrary to decolonising our understanding of law and its central role in the reproduction of colonial power dynamics. Creating legal thinkers who have the skills to disrupt settled framings of law, rights, and justice requires making one's worldview and positionality central to learning academic skills. It deliberately personalises students engagement with questions of law, and empowers them with the skills to begin unpacking Eurocentric narratives around law, rights, and justice.