Issues between the Global North and Global South have been an issue in international human rights practice. This presentation is a section that I prepared based on a paper I wrote for Professional Responsibility: Lawyers and Justice while I was a law student. The presentation was a team project. I opened with the global north/south divide as it relates to human rights law clinics. My teammates then when on to discuss various immigration ethics points in the US legal system. This presentation is an excerpt of the overall presentation. It was presented as a lesson plan.
5. Survey Results
Q: What do you think is the purpose of a legal clinic?
To give practical experiences
To give students the opportunity to practice their lawyering skills
experience and an exposure to different perspectives
To get real-world legal experience students are unable to get in a classroom.
The purpose of legal clinic is to let students have hands-on experience on their required topic.
To gain real-life experience in the legal field and understand the type of work that lawyers do,
firsthand (especially since law school is very academic and oftentimes disconnected from the
realities of the law practice).
Get substantial legal experience while helping those who can't afford legal services
To get real world experience
To learn practical skills
To learn, and to reflect upon, the skills and judgment needed to practice law.
To expose students to the actual practice of law in different areas while in law school
To gain skills that will help me in practice and to help serve a community in need of legal
services/advice.
To get exposure to a specific field of law and learn what everyday activities those lawyers do.
To provide hands-on legal experience to balance out the theoretical/impractical nature of the
rest of the law school curriculum.
Themes from your
responses:
■ Practical, real world
experience
■ Exposure to different
perspectives
■ Serve a community in
need
Do you think clinics
should instill certain
values in students?
6. What is meant by the Global North and
Global South?
Mercator Map, 1569 The Gall-Peters Projection
One way is to start with geography…
7. The North/South Divide…
■ Definition: It is “the concept of a gap
between the Global North and the Global
South in terms of development and wealth.”
■ Quotes from the clip:
“Euro-Imperialistic bias”
“What does it have to do with social inequality?”
“Unconsciously equate size with importance and
even power”
“When misrepresented something is likely to be
valued less.”
“Top and bottom attitudes”
For more information:
Global South Studies Center Cologne
8. ReadingActivity
1. Think about a brief answer to the question at the top of your
paper.
2. Read the excerpt
3. Discuss the questions with your group.
4. Feedback.