Just Methods: Communities of Practice in Law and Society Research

In this book, law and society researchers reflect on past, new, and emerging participatory action research (PAR).

In particular, the book explores two key dimensions of community-engaged law and society research: the process, methods, and challenges of collaborative research on justice, and innovative dissemination techniques of co-created knowledge, including theatre, art, museum exhibits, walking tours, music, and web platforms. The book highlights different strengths and features of PAR research, with chapters that cover a wide range of locales.

More specifically, the chapters explore the following key questions:
-How does knowledge-building about the meanings and mechanisms of justice emerge and form within law and society scholarship?
-How can we, as researchers, build space for public conversations about justice?
-How do colonialism, sexism and racism impact these conversations?
-What do meaningful partnership and collaboration look like in law and society, and how does this work take shape, recognizing these structures of inequality?
-How can we better, with more impact, share research with/in communities, and what opportunities are there for knowledge sharing to create space for conversations about justice?

The book delves into research projects and innovative methods that do novel work in charting out new methods and, consequently, builds new knowledge in socio-legal justice scholarship. It speaks to diverse range of researchers, research subjects, and research priorities.