Admission requirements
Required course(s):
None, but Introduction to Socio-legal Studies is recommended.
Description
From post-apartheid laws in South Africa to the European Union's Green Deal, numerous examples illustrate how laws shape society and how societal movements revolutionize legal systems. These case studies highlight the dynamic interplay between law and society in both the Global South and the Global North. This course takes up two fundamental questions in socio-legal studies: How does law shape society? And conversely, how does society shape the meaning of law?
This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to answer these questions and explore the social processes through which law, legal institutions, and culture are co-constituted. These questions become increasingly relevant through globalisation, migration, and the frictions of multiculturalism.
Building on socio-legal theories and examples from both the Global North and Global South, students will analyse the relationship between law, power, and culture. Together, we will ask questions, such as: What assumptions are embedded in the law about personhood and cultural sameness or difference? How do these assumptions influence the practice of law and social control on various scales, from international to local levels? What challenges arise when groups seek to use law as an instrument for social change?
To foster reflection and societal awareness, students will be asked to consider the intersections of law, culture, and society in their own lives. They will achieve this by learning to apply conceptual and methodological tools of socio-legal analysis to contemporary examples, both within their personal experiences and in the broader world. This will enhance their skills in researching and in presenting their analyses in a convincing academic manner.
This course equips students with the skills necessary for research in law, social sciences, or humanities, and prepares them for careers in policy, development, or legal professions.
Course Objectives
Skills:
After successful completion of this course, students are able to:
Conduct small independent research using basic research methods as a tool to explore socio-legal questions;
Analyze basic socio-legal concepts in relation to each other, and demonstrate understanding through visual, textual, and verbal modes of presentation.
Reflect on significant societal questions objectively, by showing awareness of diverse societal actors having different aims, and readiness to propose solutions accommodating these diverse aims.
Knowledge:
Students have an enhanced understanding of socio-legal theories.
Students have solid knowledge of the concepts of law, culture, and society and are able to analyze and compare the dynamic interplay among these elements in diverse societies across the Global South and Global North.
Students can explain and illustrate the role of law in constructing cultural and societal practices.
Students can critically assess the challenges of mobilizing law for social change.
Timetable
Timetables for courses offered at Leiden University College in 2024-2025 will be published on this page of the e-Prospectus.
Mode of instruction
This course will be based on interactive seminars. Additionally, the course will include a (duo-) presentation, an ethnographic exercise, and a final concept project and presentation.
Note: This course has a no-laptop policy!
Assessment Method
In class participation (individual) (15%). Ongoing.
Presentation (duo-presentation) (20%). Ongoing.
Ethnographic observation assignment (30%). Week 4.
Final concept project and presentation (35%). Week 6.
Reading list
TBA
Registration
Courses offered at Leiden University College (LUC) are usually only open to LUC students and LUC exchange students. Leiden University students who participate in one of the university’s Honours tracks or programmes may register for one LUC course, if availability permits. Registration is coordinated by the Education Coordinator, course.administration@luc.leidenuniv.nl.
Contact
Dr Nadia Sonneveld, n.sonneveld@law.leidenuniv.nl
Remarks
This class will have a no-laptop policy!