Postcolonial Theory and Law Study Group, Cambridge
Introduction
The Postcolonial Theory and Law Discussion Group brings together an interdisciplinary group of scholars who would like to explore the potential offered by postcolonial theory in understanding the relationship between law and colonialism. We are interested in the operation and impact of laws in colonial and postcolonial contexts, including on marginalised groups who might be disproportionately affected by the coloniality embedded within metropolitan legal systems. We are keen to analyse how themes of power, domination, alterity, imperialism and globalisation manifest in domestic, regional and international legal systems.
To pursue our interests, we meet 6-8 times a year to discuss texts that are relevant to our research interests. These can be books, book chapters, journal articles, works in progress, cases and/or any other piece of writing. Typically, one person volunteers to ‘host’ the event, assigns the reading, and facilitates the discussion. While we understand that members may be unable to attend every meeting, we do encourage regular rather than one-off attendance. We find that such ongoing engagement with the PTL community allows us to draw connections across meetings, fosters closer professional relationships and enables more productive discussions to be carried out in an environment of mutual trust.
Unless otherwise indicated, our meetings are held over lunchtime on Wednesdays, from 1pm to 2pm, in the Combination Room at Wolfson College, Cambridge CB3 9BB. Attendees are welcome to bring their lunch along to the meetings. Lunch options are also available for purchase from the Wolfson Dining Hall, which is open to all regardless of institutional affiliation. Tea, coffee and soft drinks are also available for purchase from the Wolfson Dining Hall, or from the cafe (Club Room) on the ground floor.
If you are interested in joining our mailing list and meetings, please email:
- Tugba Basaran (The Centre for the Study of Global Human Movement) tb317@cam.ac.uk
- Arushi Garg (Institute of Criminology) ag779@cam.ac.uk
- Jamie Trinidad (Faculty of Law) jt404@cam.ac.uk
If you are interested in attending our meetings but are struggling to access any of the assigned readings, please also contact the convenors. We might be able to help.
Calendar for 2023
Meeting 1
This meeting will be hosted by Jamie Trinidad on 29 March 2023.
Assigned readings
- Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on Legal Consequences of the Separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965 (25 February 2019), available at https://www.icj-cij.org/public/files/case-related/169/169-20190225-01-00-EN.pdf
- Philippe Sands (author) and Martin Rowson (illustrator), The Last Colony: A Tale of Exile, Justice and Britain's Colonial Legacy (Orion Publishing 2022)
Meeting 2
This meeting will be hosted by Meg Foster on 24 May 2023.
Assigned readings:
- Meg Foster, ‘Protecting the Colony from Its People: bushranging, vagrancy and social control in colonial New South Wales’, Law and History Review (2022). https://doi.org/10.1017/S0738248022000360
- Shino Konishi, ‘First Nations Scholars, Settler Colonialism, and Indigenous History’, Australian Historical Review vol. 50, no. 3 (2019), pp. 285-304. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1031461X.2019.1620300
If you are interested in volunteering to host a meeting around particular reading materials, please feel free to contact the convenors.