Postgraduate - UnitLAW5610 - Varieties of the secular: Law, religion, and social change

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2015 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 3, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Level	Postgraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Law
Offered	Not offered in 2015

Quota applies

The unit can be taken by a maximum of 45 students (due to limited facilities and method of teaching).

Synopsis

This seminar will provide both an historical and contemporary comparative look at the ways that legal systems have dealt with religious difference, freedom of religion, and "the secular". An important note in contemporary scholarship on the contemporary interaction of law and religion has been that there is not a single "secular" but, rather, varieties of secularisms. A close study of the various ways that political power, law, and religion have been configured provides a unique and valuable line of sight into comparative legal traditions, constitutional structure, and legal and political theory. Some of the most interesting contemporary legal and political debates have arisen out of questions about freedom of religion, its limits, and the just relationship between religion and the state.

Outcomes

On completion of this subject, students will be able to:

apply knowledge and understanding of the varieties of ways in which law and religion configure in contemporary models of secularism and the social and political importance of these models, with creativity and initiative to new situations for further learning;
investigate, analyse and synthesise complex information, problems, concepts and theories in relation to the interaction of law and religion in contemporary constitutional orders;
conduct research into the legal and political systems, based on knowledge of appropriate research principles and methods; and
use cognitive, technical and creative skills to generate and evaluate competing theoretical frameworks and to formulate, express, and support the student's opinions and arguments.

Assessment

Seminar participation: 10%
Presentations: 10%
Three critical essays based on the course materials, total word count for the three assignments to amount to 6,000 words: 80%

Workload requirements

Students are required to attend 36 hours of seminars over the duration of this intensive course.