Thirty-five years of feminism and family law in the legal academy

Abstract

This chapter is in two parts, each of which reflects upon the developments and current state of family law scholarship and feminist teaching in universities in England and Wales. Piper focuses on the enormous body of research and writing that Felicity Kaganas achieved in over 35 years of research in family law. It outlines the publications that she and Kaganas wrote together and highlights Kaganas’ other significant work. It reflects upon the impact of this work for students, academic colleagues and policy-makers and concludes that many of the same issues Kaganas addressed over the years remain current. Auchmuty, on the other hand, reflects upon 35 years of feminism in the classroom. Both Auchmuty and Kaganas started teaching in English law schools in the 1980s when the job was very different. Since that time, law teaching has become an increasingly feminised profession, with feminist teachers occupying some of the highest positions, and feminist legal research has flourished. In spite of these two profound shifts, the law degree has remained virtually unchanged, especially in respect of the ‘core curriculum’. These reflections consider why this is so, focusing on mechanisms of patriarchal containment and backlash, and considers what can be done about it.