Leader: T.B.A.
Offered
Not offered in 2008
Synopsis
Topics covered will vary to reflect new and emerging perspectives and to accommodate students interests. In the past the following topics have been covered: introduction to interdisciplinary scholarship; the death of law?; Luhmann's social systems theory of law; liberalism and the rule of law; Rawls' theory of justice; feminist critiques of law; law and economics; critical legal studies; Unger's transformative theory of law; Michel Foucault on disciplines and legal discourse; law and geography; Robert Cover and legal language; law and literature; interpretivism and legal practice; Stanley Fish and neo-progmatism.
Objectives
On completion of this subject students will have acquired or developed
- a familiarity with a variety of theoretical approaches from the humanities and social sciences with relevance to legal questions and phenomena;
- an understanding of several substantive themes which connect the theoretical approaches surveyed;
- a capacity to formulate questions drawn from different theoretical perspectives and to apply these in class discussions and written assessment work;
- the ability to use the theoretical persectives to interrogate critically legal attitudes and practices;
- the ability to conduct independent interdisciplinary research and to produce written work which is analytical and critical and draws on one or more theoretical perspectives covered during the course; and
- an awareness of the research and analytical possibilities for dissertation and thesis work provided by the perspectives considered in class.
Assessment
Research essay (3375 words): 45%
Take home examination (3375 words): 45%
Class participation: 10%
Contact hours
One 2-hour seminar per week
