ABSTRACT This article focuses on the difficulties encountered by socio-legal researchers in approaching questions on law and history, with particular reference to choosing adequate methodologies. Drawing on her personal experience in researching colonial laws and questions on indigeneity, the author outlines established lines of thought while suggesting new ways of interpreting historical material. An argument is made for applying a legal lens to historical discourses for the unique insight that may be derived from such study. Certain pitfalls in socio-legal research are highlighted, including perspective and positioning in post-colonial scholarship. The author supplies examples from her research on Mauritius as an illustration of how such an approach can be coherently applied to a chosen topic. The article concludes with recommendations for future legal research in the area of colonialism and its legacies.

中文翻译：

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从法律角度研究殖民主义和殖民遗产

摘要 本文重点关注社会法律研究人员在处理法律和历史问题时遇到的困难，特别是在选择适当的方法论方面。作者利用她在研究殖民法律和土著问题方面的个人经验，勾勒出既定的思路，同时提出了解释历史材料的新方法。有人提出将法律视角应用于历史话语的争论，以获得可能从此类研究中得出的独特见解。强调了社会法律研究中的某些陷阱，包括后殖民学术的观点和定位。作者提供了她在毛里求斯的研究中的例子，以说明如何将这种方法连贯地应用于选定的主题。