Free Hands and Minds: Pioneering Australian Legal Scholars

Description

Peter Brett (1918–1975), Alice Erh-Soon Tay (1934–2004) and Geoffrey Sawer (1910–1996) are key, yet largely overlooked, members of Australia’s first community of legal scholars. This book is a critical study of how their ideas and endeavours contributed to Australia’s discipline of law and the first Australian legal theories. It examines how three marginal figures – a Jewish man (Brett), a Chinese woman (Tay), and a war orphan (Sawer) – rose to prominence during a transformative period for Australian legal education and scholarship. Drawing on in-depth interviews with former colleagues and students, extensive archival research, and an appraisal of their contributions to scholarship and teaching, this book explores the three professors’ international networks and broader social and historical milieux. Their pivotal leadership roles in law departments at the University of Melbourne, University of Sydney, and the Australian National University are also critically assessed. Ranging from local experiences and the concerns of a nascent Australian legal academy to the complex transnational phenomena of legal scholarship and theory, Free Hands and Minds makes a compelling case for contextualising law and legal culture within society. At a time of renewed crisis in legal education and research in the common law world, it also offers a vivid, nuanced and critical account of the enduring liberal foundations of Australia’s discipline of law. Foreword Acknowledgements Table of Contents 1. Introduction History and Legal Education Brett, Tay and Sawer Why Brett, Tay and Sawer? Feminism and Life History Concluding Remarks 2. Australian Legal Academics: A Short Intellectual History Introduction Law Professors and the Case for University Legal Education Tradition and Change – Founding an Australian Intellectual Tradition A Period of Change: 1950–2000 Conclusion Part A: Peter Brett 3. Brett and the Americanisation of Australian Law Schools Introduction Brett and the Melbourne Law School The Makings of a 'Liberal Humane Scholar' A Legal Process SJD Taking Legal Process Seriously Reception Concluding Remarks 4. The First Theory for Teaching Australian Criminal Law Introduction Brett and Waller Legal Process in the Australian Classroom Brett and the Australian Judiciary Reception Intellectual and Practical Obstacles Student Impressions Fracturing the Teaching Team Concluding Remarks 5. One of Australia's 'Pillars of Justice'? Introduction Orr Tait, Beamish, Ratten A Mixed Reception Concluding Remarks 6. A Professor of Jurisprudence The Last Professor of Jurisprudence at Melbourne 'The Most Urgent Contemporary Task' Conclusion – Peter Brett Part B: Alice Erh-Soon Tay 7. Morality and the Legal Academy Introduction The Makings of an Academic Warrior An Open Mind – John Anderson Possession The Sociological Tradition The Australian Legal Academy Concluding Remarks 8. Tay and the Department of Jurisprudence: Reigniting Hostilities Introduction Reigniting Decades of Division Origins of the Division Tay's Appointment 9. Tay and the Department of Jurisprudence: Stone's Successor Introduction Tay's Credentials Tay and Stone – Different Sociological Traditions A 'Beachhead' for Jurisprudence The Antidote New Protagonists Concluding Remarks 10. Tay and the Department of Jurisprudence: An Academic Entrepreneur Introduction The Rise of an Academic Entrepreneur Motivating Principles The Heart of the Department Concluding Remarks 11. Critic of Australia's Legal Academy Introduction Critique of Australian Legal Education and Scholarship Feminist Legal Scholarship Conservative or Liberal? Limiting Tay's Legacy Conclusion – Alice Erh-Soon Tay Part C: Geoffrey Sawer 12. Politics, Law and Society Introduction University Life and Politics Traditional Underpinnings Concluding Remarks 13. A Case Against Law's Autonomy Introduction A Smorgasbord of Legal Theory Sawer's Constructive Legal Realism A Response to the Realist Dilemma Bank Nationalisation Australian Federal Politics and Law Strengthening the Doctrine of Precedent 'We're All Socio-Legal Now' (and Always Have Been) A Middle Ground Concluding Remarks 14. Sawer and the Research School of Social Sciences Introduction Sawer's Appointment to a World-class Australian University The Department of Law Early Ambitions Dean of the RSSS Entrepreneurial Qualities Strengthening International Networks Recruitment Doctoral Students Concluding Remarks 15. Sawer and the Future of Australian Academic Law The Path Not Taken What Might Have Been What Occurred 16. Conclusion Learning Lessons Lives and Careers Local Conditions The Heart of Australian Law Schools Law Schools and Society Appendix A: List of Peter Brett’s Publications Appendix B: List of AliceErh-Soon Tay’s Publications Appendix C: List of Geoffrey Sawer’s Publications Bibliography Index