what is law like in the first year

[mermaid]

i heard in unsw that law is really rigid and inflexible....what do u guys actually do. Coz for usyd there are no tests just essays, and no lectures or tuts just seminars where ppl talk about crap and particpate in debates and shit, and there are guest speakers in place of lectures.
Is law in unsw similar to legal studies....coz that is just plain boring and memorising and doesn;t really test ones' skills.

 

[spin spin sugar]

go to usyd if you think its so great

 

[addz]

Originally posted by mermaid
i heard in unsw that law is really rigid and inflexible....what do u guys actually do. Coz for usyd there are no tests just essays, and no lectures or tuts just seminars where ppl talk about crap and particpate in debates

so you'd rather write essays than do like 10 questions (ranging from 1-10 marks). i'd take tests over essay form (which is more likely to be "memorized" esp. if you are given the topic b4 hand)

lol, i always thought unsw was the more "flexible" out of the two uni's in terms of teaching and class styles...so did sydney scrap away the law lectures and replace it with "seminars" ???a.k.a "classroom"

 

[rukawasan]

dude... we dont have lecture... we have classes... which is equivalent to usyd's seminars...
usyd actually has one lecture... whereas we dont...

and out of which uni is more flexible... its common consensus that unsw is by far the less rigid of the two... this is not subjective... its accepted...

dude... choose whichever uni u think'll suit u more...

 

[Lazarus]

Originally posted by mermaid
i heard in unsw that law is really rigid and inflexible

Did you actually hear that, or did you just make it up?

USYD only recently instituted their 'seminar' system, and it was modelled on the teaching style used at UNSW. The ex-dean who initiated the changes over there now lectures at UNSW on a casual basis.

You won't find law anywhere to be like legal studies. UNSW and USYD both have great law schools.

 

[Suvat]

Usyd's basically 2 x 2hr seminars per week, like unsw
The lecture isn't really to teach you the stuff you need to know, but rather as topics of interest. Basically it's really just guest speakers coming from various institutions spread their propaganda, in a few weeks a unsw person is coming over to lecture us on how the war on iraq violates international law

 

[santaslayer]

Originally posted by Lazarus
Did you actually hear that, or did you just make it up?

USYD only recently instituted their 'seminar' system, and it was modelled on the teaching style used at UNSW. The ex-dean who initiated the changes over there now lectures at UNSW on a casual basis.

You won't find law anywhere to be like legal studies. UNSW and USYD both have great law schools.

no, they copied it off UOW, the seminars have been going on for like heaps long.......LoLz (becaudse they 'pride' themselves in a more particaptory approach......blah!)
just forces us to actually do the readings!!!

 

[addz]

Originally posted by Lazarus
The ex-dean who initiated the changes over there now lectures at UNSW on a casual basis.

who's this???
how long has mccallum (i think) been dean @ usyd for??

 

[pigs_can_fly]

not very long...like 2 yrs i think

 

[deesele]

you guys know too much.

 

[Ziff]

That's because they go to those unis!

 

[Ziff]

Originally posted by santaslayer
no, they copied it off UOW, the seminars have been going on for like heaps long.......LoLz (becaudse they 'pride' themselves in a more particaptory approach......blah!)
just forces us to actually do the readings!!!

UOW's Law faculty was established in 1997 I think so they'd be experimenting with new and interesting teaching techniques I suspect.

 

[santaslayer]

:uhhuh:

but it wasnt est in 1997 (or maybe is that the 'official' year?), coz from what i've been told, it was est a bit earlier then 1997?

 

[sugared plum]

aside from whoever started the 'socratic teaching' style in law schools, unsw has a long reputation of studies focused on social justice/judicial activism as opposed to a formalistic 'black letter' approach to the law.
however, usyd (which mermaids, in your post i think you are getting the two unis confused) is beginning to model their ways on unsw- the electives available at usyd are things like 'the holocaust and moral responsibility', 'feminist theory and the law' 'human rights' etc. which is quite a big change for them. unsw, however, has many of these courses available, and indeed even courses like foundations of law are taught with a social justice focus. unsw ecourages students to critically examine the law, and to understand law existing not in an empirical vacuum, but in a changing social system.

anyway law is my favourite class, it's wonderful. i don't for a moment regret not going to usyd.

 

[addz]

another thing unsw got is Quantitative methods in law????

thats obscure and innovative at the same time....


maths and law...sounds weird..and unfun at the same time

 

[santaslayer]

same at UOW....same at all unis right? (that do BComm/LLB)?

 

[addz]

i dunno..
qm for law is supposedly a new subject this year..saw like notices on the notice board for it...dunno how long it'll last though..

 

[sugared plum]

haha mermaid is actually doing law at usyd. she is just being rude

 

[santaslayer]

wtf?

 

[sugared plum]

check her past history of posts... she goes to usyd