Admission requirements
This course is suitable for 2nd and 3rd year students in Law, Social Sciences, Public Administration, History, Arts.
Description
Good governance, human rights, the rule of law: in these days law and governance are often presented as the remedy against ‘the African condition’. During this course we explore the complex relations between law, governance and change in Africa. What role, for instance, did law play in the colonisation process?
What does the changing place of the state in Africa – constrained by the international legal and socio-political system, challenged by chieftaincies and decentralized local governments – mean for the ability to bring about change through the law? How do other legal systems – religious, customary, NGO-law, international human rights – interact with this state law, for instance when it comes to the management of natural resources like land and water?
We do not only look at conceptual tools to understand the relation between law and societal change, but also at selected case studies: the new relevance of traditional authorities in Africa, the management of land in Ghana, successes and failures of legal development cooperation and the revival of traditional courts to deal with the genocide in Rwanda are amongst them. As such, this course is as much about the relation between law and society in the contemporary world as it is about the present condition of Africa.
Course objectives
Objectives of the course:
- To be announced
Achievement levels:
- The following achievement levels apply with regard to the course:
Timetable
See: http://www.leidenuniv.nl/rechten/osi/wg/ .
Mode of instruction
Lectures
Number of (2 hour) lectures: 10
Names of lecturers: Ms. J. Ubink and guest lecturers
Required preparation by students:
Assessment method
Examination form(s)
- Written exam.
Areas to be tested within the exam
- Reader and lecture notes
Blackboard
More information on this course is offered in Blackboard.
Reading list
Obligatory course materials
Literature:
- None
Reader:
- Reader, available at Onderwijsmaterialen (KOG, room A.045)
Registration
Students have to register for courses and exams through uSis.
Contact details
Coordinator: Ms. J. Ubink
Work address: KOG, room B3.18
Contact information: By appointment through email
Telephone number: +31 (0)71-527 7262
E-mail: j.ubink@law.leidenuniv.nl
Institution/division
Institution: Metajuridica / Jurisprudence
Division: Van Vollenhoven Instituut
Room number secretariat: KOG, room B3.13
Opening hours: Monday to Thursday 9:00-12:30 and 13:30-16:00
Telephone number secretariat: +31 (0)71-527 7769
E-mail: vollenhoven@law.leidenuniv.nl