Beyond thinking like a lawyer: providing a space for perpetrator studies within the legal classroom

Abstract

When examining the topic of perpetrators of mass killings, political violence, and genocide in the legal classroom, it becomes evident that the law is primarily concerned with formal rules and issues of liability. When being taught to “think like a lawyer” (Elkins 1996), and when learning about perpetrators of mass crimes in a legal setting, law students are often discouraged from using interdisciplinary sources or delving into broader discussions about perpetrators. Indeed, one of the main difficulties when teaching about perpetrators in law school is creating a space for more interdisciplinary readings, methods of teaching, and discussions in the classroom. Yet, as this chapter argues, non-legal materials can often show how law operates through lived experiences, where it succeeds and where it fails. Moreover, a greater reliance on Perpetrator Studies (with its inherent interdisciplinarity) would also allow students to learn to “think like a lawyer” in its broader sense, embracing a variety of human experiences and contexts. This will help them become more rigorous in their analytical reasoning and more creative in their argumentation. For both students of law and legal scholars, Perpetrator Studies opens up possibilities for better understanding the role, value, and limitation of law in societies around the world.