Teaching Criminal Justice as Feminist Praxis

Feminist scholars who teach criminology, criminal justice and/or criminal law modules often find their personal and professional identities intersect when addressing issues of a gendered and intersectional nature. Some have the freedom and autonomy to embed their values and ethics into their teaching approach, while others face institutional resistance and restrictions. Programme requirements may also constrain scholars’ abilities to do justice to a range of competing experiences, perspectives, and critiques. This chapter presents selected findings from a 2019 empirical study into feminist academics’ experiences of teaching gendered and intersectional socio-legal issues in UK universities. It explores the internal and external barriers encountered by participants who sought to effect positive change in their students through their feminist approaches to teaching criminal justice topics. Alongside this, the chapter highlights participants’ examples of best practice in managing student resistance and overcoming institutional barriers to embed intersectional perspectives as part of a feminist commitment to critical and purposeful pedagogy.