Browse Hierarchy LAW6009: Legal Theory and Critique

This module explores classic and contemporary themes in law and social theory through students' own independent study and research. Instead of simply acknowledging the law for what it is, students will be challenged to produce enquiries as to why the law exists as it does, embedded in its current forms, narratives, and ideologies. Students studying on this module will be given lectures which firstly explore the traditional areas of legal theory, such as Natural Law, Social Contract Theory and Legal Positivism, but which then turn to critical areas of legal theory, such as Feminist and Marxist Legal Theory. Following this the module then engages in areas of contemporary legal thought such as Law and Power, Law and the Political, and Law and Resistance. These varying fields of thought engage in exercises of abstract theory yet are grounded in a critical analysis of actual legal and social concepts. Thus the module is specifically designed to assess students' critical thinking abilities. Each lecture concludes with applicable case-studies for the theories explored and the accompanying seminars see students engage with short but dense pieces from legal and social theory, including primary texts from prominent continental theorists and legal scholars.