We’re seeking essay submissions for the 2022 Race & the Law Essay Prize, an initiative of the Society’s Racial Equity Committee. This award recognizes and encourages outstanding scholarship by law students in Nova Scotia, on topics pertaining specifically to issues of race and law.
Topic
The successful essay must demonstrate ‘race’ literacy insight. That is, it should demonstrate confidence, ease and skill in addressing ‘race’. The essay must also interrogate ‘race’ in a broad legal context and explicitly communicate novel insights that contribute to the emerging scholarship on ‘race’ and the law.
Scholarship on ‘race’ and the law includes, but is not limited to, discussions of the construction of ‘race’, the experience of legal institutions by racialized persons, and the law as it affects Indigenous peoples and issues of cultural diversity.
‘Race’ and the law may factor into any of the content areas of legal scholarship such as Contracts, Tax, Employment, Human Rights, Administrative, Jurisprudence, Constitutional, Aboriginal or International Law. In short, students should not feel limited in how they interpret and write about the topic of ‘race’ and the law.
Criteria
Essays will be judged on form, content, and race literacy insight.
Eligibility
Applicants must be currently or previously enrolled in the JD program at the Schulich School of Law. The essay must have been written in the past 24 months for the JD program.
Submission and Deadline
Applicants must email a PDF or MS Word version of their essay to the Society’s Equity and Access Office at [email protected]. Each paper must be accompanied by an abstract that clearly articulates the ‘race’ literacy aspects of the paper.
The deadline for submissions is May 20, 2022 and the successful applicant will be notified in June 2022.
Award
The successful applicant will receive a plaque and a cash prize of $500 at the NSBS Racial Equity Committee’s reception honouring racialized and Indigenous articled clerks.