2019/20 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

LAW2620 Law and Society

10 creditsClass Size: 400

Module manager: Professor Marie-Andrée Jacob
Email: M.A.Jacob@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable

Year running 2019/20

Pre-requisite qualifications

Students must have passed LLB Level 1.

Pre-requisites

LAW1200

Foundations of Law

This module is not approved as a discovery module

Module summary

This module is designed to introduce students to a law and society (or socio-legal) approach to the study of law, to teach them to recognise the importance of social context to legal analysis, and to equip them with the skills required to undertake socio-legal analysis and research.

Objectives

Socio-legal (or law and society) approaches look at the law in the context of broader social and political theories and issues. The aim of this module is to introduce students to the diverse traditions and methods that come under this umbrella, as well as to the idea of situating law within its context.

Learning outcomes
By the end of the module students will be able to:
- identify a socio-legal approach and understand the reasons behind a socio-legal approach and method;
- critically discuss the law in terms of the different social contexts covered in the syllabus;
- demonstrate analytical and independent study skills;
- demonstrate effective oral communication and presentation skills;
- demonstrate ability in group work and in AV & IT skills.

Syllabus

The module content will built upon the four theoretical strands covered in Foundations of Law at level 1, namely Law & Morality, Law & Authority, Law & Validity and Law & Rights. The module will open with a discussion of the socio-legal approach and what a socio-legal method involves, and then proceed to exemplify this in relation to concrete examples. While specific topics may vary, these will broadly come under the headings: Law & Religion, Law & Justice, and Law & Pluralism.

Law & Religion: This section considers the relationship between state law and religious laws and principles. While positivists argue that law and religion ought to be kept strictly separate, contemporary realities have given rise to a range of different constitutional and jurisprudential models of that relationship.

Law & Justice: This section asks questions such as: what is political liberalism, and how does it explain the possibility of a just society? It asks questions such as (i) What is meant by religious tolerance? (ii) Is torture sometimes permitted? and (iii) What is the role of courts in a divided society?

Law & Pluralism: Legal pluralism challenges the State-centeredness of law, and its main attributes of formal equality, universality and uniformity. It takes a post-modern approach, emphasising the important of context and diversity, and providing different perspectives on issues of justice and power.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Group learning	1	2.00	2.00
Lecture	11	1.00	11.00
Seminar	3	2.00	6.00
Private study hours			81.00
Total Contact hours			19.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			100.00

Private study

Preparation for the lectures and seminars, including advanced reading, and group meetings relating to the oral summative video-recorded presentations. There will be a group learning session where a room will be provided for groups to hold their meetings to prepare for the assessment.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Students will be monitored informally through their participation in seminars and workshops, as well as by means of a group presentation (supported by an individual project management plan) and an individual poster, which will combine to form the summative assessment.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Oral Presentation	Content and presentation (60% content and 20% presentation)	80.00
Poster Presentation	Poster	20.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 01/11/2019

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