Be it the comparative analysis of the evolution of law Max Weber attempted in Economy and Society, or Emile Durkheim’s study on the division of labour, the complex relationship between law and the constitution of modern societies has been a central question to the first generation of sociologists. 20th-century sociology of law has inherited questions such as how law produces social order, how law can bring about social change concerning existing inequalities or discriminations, how conflicts in society are solved or how legality structures everyday life.
This course introduces students to the sociological analysis of law through a selection of empirical investigations and theoretical works drawn from the mainly Anglo-Saxon field of “law and society”. Students will dive into a variety of topics and debates taking place within this field through a close study of key texts which are exclusively accessible in the English language. “French” perspectives in law and society are thus voluntarily left aside unless they relate to and form part of the topics discussed.
The complex interaction and mutual constitution of “law” and “society” will be discussed through a series of questions, such as:
What is “the law”?
What are “legal cultures” and how can they be compared?
Why do people (not) turn to the law when facing conflict or adversity?
What is the place of law in everyday life?
How is legal work accomplished?
How does gender matter for the law?
Through the discussion of these questions, we will critically assess relevant concepts within the field sociology of law, such as “legal culture”, “legal field”, “legal mobilization”, “legal (rights) consciousness”, the “making of law” or “gender and judging”.
 

If you participate actively, you will learn

• How to jump over your shadow
• How to read a scientific text in English
• How to elaborate knowledge in a collective and interactive manner
• How to situate yourself in an internationalized academic space
• How to access ways of thinking and doing sociology (of law) which are uniquely available in English
• How a course you might take during a semester abroad would approximately look like
• A thing or two about the role of law in society