Margaret Thornton
Biographic Data
| ID | 3648826 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Margaret Thornton |
| GIVEN NAMES | Margaret |
| FAMILY NAME | Thornton |
| SIGNATURE | THORNTON M |
| AFFILIATIONS | College of Law |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3136-3619 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 38 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 95 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 38 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1972 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
“The Kids can Handle it”
Purpose: This comparative case study focused on high schools in California, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia using the lens of Culturally Responsive School Leadership to investigate the actions of school leaders in implementing detracking and asks How do school leaders’ actions regarding detracking fit into the larger framework of Culturally Responsive School Leadership? Research Methods: This study uses a qualitative comparative case study m…
Educated or job ready
The fragility of feminist reform
On Romancing the Tomes
Emerita Professor Margaret Thornton's edited collection, Romancing the Tomes: Popular Culture, Law and Feminism was published in 2002, and grew out of the workshop Margaret organised under the auspices of the Humanities Research Centre at the Australian National University in 2000. In 2021 as part of the Institute of International Law and the Humanities ('IILAH') Festival of Conversations Margaret spoke to Johanna Commins about the original works…
Beyond Tracking
Background/Context: In this study, we draw on evolving definitions of opportunity to learn (OTL) to conceptualize mathematics OTL has having two main components: structural OTL, defined by gatekeeping access to specific mathematics courses through the process of tracking, and instructional OTL, defined by the learning experiences of students in their mathematics courses. We also conceptualize both of these aspects of OTL as occurring in the curre…
Segregating the “gifted” in Charlottesville
The implementation of gifted programmes in the 1970s provided a way for school divisions to circumvent many of the aims of desegregated schooling as called for in Brown v. Board of Education. This study examines the implementation of one such system in a Southern school district that saw schools close rather than integrate in the years preceding the founding of a segregated gifted programme known as Quest. Additionally, the study situates the fou…
Challenging sexism in elite boys’ schools
Who Cares? The Conundrum for Gender Equality in Legal Practice
Although women comprise the majority of practitioners in legal practice in Australia, the question of who cares remains an enduring challenge for gender equality. Against the backdrop of social and policy changes resulting from the feminisation of labour, this article pays particular attention to the role of flexible work in legal practice. It draws on two empirical projects – one involving corporate law firms and the other involving NewLaw firms…
Tejani, Riaz, Law Mart
Women Judges, Private Lives
Throughout the Western intellectual tradition, the separation of public and private life has been ubiquitous.[footnote* See, eg, Jeff Weintraub and Krishan Kumar (eds), Public and Private in Thought and Practice: Perspectives on a Grand Dichotomy (University of Chicago Press, 1997); Margaret Thornton (ed), Public and Private: Feminist Legal Debates (Oxford University Press, 1995); Ruth Gavison, ‘Feminism and the Public/Private Distinction’ (1992)…
Of boiled frogs and other things
The corporatisation of public universities has spread like a cancer throughout the world; it is by no means confined to the UK, as Ben Martin notes in his proposition paper. It is not just the top
Public universities, managerialism and the value of higher education
The university (as experienced by most senior academics) has changed dramatically in recent decades. This has induced a number of them/us (e.g. Readings, 1997; Docherty, 2011, 2015; Thornton, 2012
Squeezing the life out of lawyers
Neoliberalism is the dominant ideology of our time and shows no sign of abating. The undue deference accorded the economy and capital accumulation means that comparatively little attention is paid to the pressures this involves for workers. Although conventionally viewed as privileged professionals, lawyers in corporate law firms have been profoundly affected by the neoliberal turn as firms have expanded from local to national, to global entities…
On The Liberal Promise
Margaret Thornton's The Liberal Promise was published in 1990.11. Thornton Margaret The Liberal Promise: Anti-Discrimination Legislation in Australia Oxford University Press Melbourne 1990. In this interview, conducted at the ANU College of Law on 3 February 2015, Margaret Thornton discusses with Ann Genovese three broad, and interrelated, questions. One is the achievement of The Liberal Promise, the conditions of its production and publication a…
Deregulation, Debt and the Discipline of Law
In the 25 years since the introduction of university fees, the legal education landscape has been transformed. The most recent proposal is that fees be deregulated completely. High fees place pressure on law students to secure high-paying jobs in corporate law, although competition policy and technological change have caused such jobs to contract. Rather than all schools continuing to offer a standardized curriculum directed towards traditional p…
The Mirage of Merit
This paper takes a hard look at merit and the ideal academic, twin concepts that have been accorded short shrift by the scholarly literature. For the most authoritative positions, the ideal displays all the hallmarks of Benchmark Man. Despite the ostensib
Age Discrimination in Turbulent Times
Concerns about the ramifications of a rapidly ageing population have generally focused on the post-retirement period, with limited scholarly attention to the experience of ageism in the workplace. Despite a shift in policy against early retirement, 'older workers' — who may be as young as 40 — are disproportionately experiencing age discrimination, often resulting in joblessness. We argue that in a postmodern environment, where the culture of 'yo…
Post-Feminism' in the Legal Academy
Against the background of the political swing from social liberalism to neo-liberalism in Australia, this paper considers the discomfiting relationship between feminism and the legal academy over the last three decades. It briefly traces the trajectory of the liaison, the course of the brief affair, the parting of the ways and the cold shoulder. In considering the reasons for the retreat from feminism, it is suggested that it has been engineered …
Universities Upside Down
Engaging with the fiftieth anniversary theme of “Knowledge Reconsidered: Feminism in the Academy at York,” this presentation will consider the knowledge revolution that is presently occurring in the academy. Instead of pursuing knowledge for its own sake, à la Newman, universities everywhere are playing a key role in the production of new knowledge as required by nation states. The effect of global trends such as the commodification of knowledge …
Feminist Research in a Climate of Insecurity
Feminism and the Changing State
The Dissolution of the Social in the Legal Academy
This valedictory address presents an account of an experiment to set up a Department of Law and Legal Studies within a School of Social Sciences, at La Trobe University in Melbourne, with the aim of emphasising not just the role of law in its social context, but an interdisciplinary approach to the study of law. As with the attempts by the legal realists at Yale and Columbia in the 1920s and 1930s, the experiment was unsuccessful. In light of the…
Gothic Horror in the Legal Academy
Neoliberal Melancholia
Blank
Affirmative Action, Merit and Police Recruitment
Affirmative action measures, particularly the use of quotas, are contentious because they are assumed to contravene the merit principle. This piece challenges the assumption with reference to a proposal by Victoria Police that 50% of all new recruits should be women. It argues that the normativity of the white male police officer has shaped the construction of the ‘best person’. The paper includes an overview of affirmative action law in Australi…
The Mirage of Merit
This paper takes a hard look at merit and the ideal academic, twin concepts that have been accorded short shrift by the scholarly literature. For the most authoritative positions, the ideal displays all the hallmarks of Benchmark Man. Despite the ostensib
Feminism and the Changing State
Authority and Corporeality
Neoliberal Melancholia
Blank
The Public/Private Dichotomy
This paper argues that the malleability of the public/private dichotomy within liberal discourse is deployed by the state in order to mediate polarized interests. Even though anti-discrimination legislation does challenge the assignation of women to the private and men to the public spheres, the centrality of the dichotomy ensures that any changes which occur in the relations between men and women do not threaten the immunity accorded domestic li…
Feminist Research in a Climate of Insecurity
Universities Upside Down
Engaging with the fiftieth anniversary theme of “Knowledge Reconsidered: Feminism in the Academy at York,” this presentation will consider the knowledge revolution that is presently occurring in the academy. Instead of pursuing knowledge for its own sake, à la Newman, universities everywhere are playing a key role in the production of new knowledge as required by nation states. The effect of global trends such as the commodification of knowledge …
Feeling chilly (again) in the legal academy
(2003). Feeling chilly (again) in the legal academy. Australian Feminist Law Journal: Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 145-151
Who Cares? The Conundrum for Gender Equality in Legal Practice
Although women comprise the majority of practitioners in legal practice in Australia, the question of who cares remains an enduring challenge for gender equality. Against the backdrop of social and policy changes resulting from the feminisation of labour, this article pays particular attention to the role of flexible work in legal practice. It draws on two empirical projects – one involving corporate law firms and the other involving NewLaw firms…
Post-Feminism' in the Legal Academy
Against the background of the political swing from social liberalism to neo-liberalism in Australia, this paper considers the discomfiting relationship between feminism and the legal academy over the last three decades. It briefly traces the trajectory of the liaison, the course of the brief affair, the parting of the ways and the cold shoulder. In considering the reasons for the retreat from feminism, it is suggested that it has been engineered …
The Dissolution of the Social in the Legal Academy
This valedictory address presents an account of an experiment to set up a Department of Law and Legal Studies within a School of Social Sciences, at La Trobe University in Melbourne, with the aim of emphasising not just the role of law in its social context, but an interdisciplinary approach to the study of law. As with the attempts by the legal realists at Yale and Columbia in the 1920s and 1930s, the experiment was unsuccessful. In light of the…
Law as Business in the Corporatised University
Conflictos entre a Igreja e o Estado no Brasil
The equality principle and the sexual division of labour
Feminism and legal theory conference, university of Wisconsin‐Madison
1988). 1988 feminism and legal theory conference, university of Wisconsin‐Madison: Women and power. Australian Feminist Studies: Vol. 3, No. 7-8, pp. 209-213
Pornography as Social Injury
(1989). Pornography as Social Injury. Current Issues in Criminal Justice: Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 140-152
Equivocations of Conciliation
The Public/Private Dichotomy
This paper argues that the malleability of the public/private dichotomy within liberal discourse is deployed by the state in order to mediate polarized interests. Even though anti-discrimination legislation does challenge the assignation of women to the private and men to the public spheres, the centrality of the dichotomy ensures that any changes which occur in the relations between men and women do not threaten the immunity accorded domestic li…
Discord in the Legal Academy
(1994). Discord in the Legal Academy: The Case of the Feminist Scholar. Australian Feminist Law Journal: Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 53-71
The Judicial Gendering of Citizenship
Authority and Corporeality
Law as Business in the Corporatised University
F-LawTalk
(2000). F-Law Talk: Feminism in the Legal Academy. Australian Feminist Law Journal: Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 116-120
B ook R eview
Affirmative Action, Merit and Police Recruitment
Affirmative action measures, particularly the use of quotas, are contentious because they are assumed to contravene the merit principle. This piece challenges the assumption with reference to a proposal by Victoria Police that 50% of all new recruits should be women. It argues that the normativity of the white male police officer has shaped the construction of the ‘best person’. The paper includes an overview of affirmative action law in Australi…
Feeling chilly (again) in the legal academy
(2003). Feeling chilly (again) in the legal academy. Australian Feminist Law Journal: Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 145-151
Neoliberal Melancholia
Blank
Gothic Horror in the Legal Academy
Feminism and the Changing State
The Dissolution of the Social in the Legal Academy
This valedictory address presents an account of an experiment to set up a Department of Law and Legal Studies within a School of Social Sciences, at La Trobe University in Melbourne, with the aim of emphasising not just the role of law in its social context, but an interdisciplinary approach to the study of law. As with the attempts by the legal realists at Yale and Columbia in the 1920s and 1930s, the experiment was unsuccessful. In light of the…
Feminist Research in a Climate of Insecurity
Universities Upside Down
Engaging with the fiftieth anniversary theme of “Knowledge Reconsidered: Feminism in the Academy at York,” this presentation will consider the knowledge revolution that is presently occurring in the academy. Instead of pursuing knowledge for its own sake, à la Newman, universities everywhere are playing a key role in the production of new knowledge as required by nation states. The effect of global trends such as the commodification of knowledge …
Age Discrimination in Turbulent Times
Concerns about the ramifications of a rapidly ageing population have generally focused on the post-retirement period, with limited scholarly attention to the experience of ageism in the workplace. Despite a shift in policy against early retirement, 'older workers' — who may be as young as 40 — are disproportionately experiencing age discrimination, often resulting in joblessness. We argue that in a postmodern environment, where the culture of 'yo…
Post-Feminism' in the Legal Academy
Against the background of the political swing from social liberalism to neo-liberalism in Australia, this paper considers the discomfiting relationship between feminism and the legal academy over the last three decades. It briefly traces the trajectory of the liaison, the course of the brief affair, the parting of the ways and the cold shoulder. In considering the reasons for the retreat from feminism, it is suggested that it has been engineered …
The Mirage of Merit
This paper takes a hard look at merit and the ideal academic, twin concepts that have been accorded short shrift by the scholarly literature. For the most authoritative positions, the ideal displays all the hallmarks of Benchmark Man. Despite the ostensib
Deregulation, Debt and the Discipline of Law
In the 25 years since the introduction of university fees, the legal education landscape has been transformed. The most recent proposal is that fees be deregulated completely. High fees place pressure on law students to secure high-paying jobs in corporate law, although competition policy and technological change have caused such jobs to contract. Rather than all schools continuing to offer a standardized curriculum directed towards traditional p…
On The Liberal Promise
Margaret Thornton's The Liberal Promise was published in 1990.11. Thornton Margaret The Liberal Promise: Anti-Discrimination Legislation in Australia Oxford University Press Melbourne 1990. In this interview, conducted at the ANU College of Law on 3 February 2015, Margaret Thornton discusses with Ann Genovese three broad, and interrelated, questions. One is the achievement of The Liberal Promise, the conditions of its production and publication a…
Political science (31 works) · Sociology (30 works) · Law (23 works) · Law (18 works) · Law in Society and Culture (12 works) · Legal Education and Practice Innovations (11 works) · Economics (9 works) · Gender Studies (7 works) · Media studies (7 works) · Psychology (7 works)