Call for Participants in a Global South Forum for Collaboration on a New Legal Theory Textbook

by | 23 Mar 2014

Call for Participants

Considering:

  1. that many students across the world cannot afford textbooks,
  2. that to protect the substantial profit margins of major publishers, such students may even be prohibited by copyright from having access to photocopies of such materials (example),
  3. that Counterpress, a new publisher of books in the critical humanities, is committed to providing students access to books regardless of personal wealth,
  4. that the current range of legal theory textbooks are predominantly liberal, Eurocentric, and uncritical;

Counterpress proposes to publish a new textbook in (critical) legal theory that:

  1. will be published as both physical paperback and digital open access,
  2. offers alternative perspectives — in particular from the ‘global south’ — to those found in traditional legal theory textbooks,
  3. offers case studies that will make theory more tangible to students and that will enable them to develop a sense of solidarity with others across the global south,
  4. enables students to develop a critical awareness of the power dynamics inherent to (global) norm-creation and/or regimes of justice.

To this end, Counterpress has set-up a Web-based Global South Forum to facilitate collaboration between academics across the world in the production of the book. Currently, the Forum already comprises several members who have joined by direct invitation. Nevertheless, the Forum would benefit from gaining further members from a variety of disciplines (not exclusively jurists) who are interested in issues of law and/or justice, and who are willing to do at least one of the following:

  1. engage in the Forum’s conversations/debates,
  2. offer proposals, suggestions, and/or critiques concerning the structure, content and editorial production of the book,
  3. share local experiences in terms of what types of materials, topics or formats students best respond to,
  4. provide appropriate local materials and case studies,
  5. aid in the writing of the textbook, whether it be small sections or whole chapters.

If you are interested in being part of this unique and ambitious project, the first legal theory textbook to be produced in common and for the commons, then please contact the Global South Forum via the form below. We are keen to hear from voices from all over the world and particularly those from Africa and Asia, as these regions are currently underrepresented within the Forum. We are also keen to hear from those located anywhere, including the North, with an appreciation of issues pertaining to the South within the North and vice-versa.

Counterpress, 2014
http://counterpress.org.uk

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