Blackwell Reference Online

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Comment on this article   For more than a century the subject of international law has been taught in law schools and in university and college departments of international affairs, government, and political science. This essay will review the literature (see generally Gamble 1992a; 2000; 2007 ; Gamble and Joyner 1997 ; Joyner 1999 ) and practice of public international law pedagogy. It will identify instructional opportunities as well as perennial and recent challenges. The focus will be primarily, though not exclusively, on the dedicated “international law” course and teaching practices in Anglophone classrooms. Nevertheless, teaching beyond the standalone course and English-language higher education will also be considered (on teaching “beyond the classroom” per se, see Ku 2003 ). This review will discuss the following subjects in turn: the historical context of international law teaching, the identification of course subjects and textbooks, syllabi, innovative pedagogical approaches, and assessment. What has been the historical status of international law teaching? What instructional approaches have been employed? How have international law teaching practices in colleges compared to those in law schools? And how have international law-related professional organizations treated pedagogy? As one commentator joked, “International law teaching combines the worst aspects of ... log in or subscribe to read full text