Introduction: Feminist Jurisprudence and the Question of Home

Abstract

A seminar on 'Feminist Jurisprudence and the Question of Home', convened by Dr Ann Genovese, was held at Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne on 6 September 2013, under the auspices of the Institute for International Law and the Humanities. Questions asked included: How and to what extent can we use ‘home’ as a conceptual framing for the law, and what does the choice to do so suggest for the conduct of jurisprudence? In the seminar, feminist legal scholars interrogated some of the meanings of home, to consider what work it can (or cannot do) for contemporary inquires about state and status, nation and place, inclusion and exclusion. This section of the journal presents a mix of audio recordings, powerpoint slides and written papers from the seminar. The papers, by offering different accounts of ‘home’, remind us of the necessity for feminist thinking as a part of jurisprudential practice. Further details of the seminar can be found at http://www.law.unimelb.edu.au/melbourne-law-school/news-and-events/news-and-events-details/diaryid/7355.