“But It’s All About Women Though” Socio-Legal and Gender Research in the Core Curriculum

This chapter explores the introduction of approaches to teaching core subjects such as European Union Law and Public Law which embed discussions of gender, gender politics and themes around diversity and social justice throughout the module and introduce socio-legal, interdisciplinary and empirical research. It draws on the author's experience of introducing her own research on Gender and the European Court of Justice, EU Citizenship and judicial diversity more generally into large core modules. The chapter reflects on how such approaches can enrich the teaching and learning experience, offer new perspectives and a more holistic understanding of traditional institutional and substantive issues. But the chapter also explores how explicitly foregrounding discussions about gender challenges student expectations, alienates some and is seen by many as a distraction from the real content that needs to be covered. The chapter concludes with some thoughts in the importance of incorporating alternative approaches.