Postgraduate Course: Key Issues in Law and Society Research (PGSP11102)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | Postgrad (School of Social and Political Studies) |
Other subject area | Law |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | This course serves as an introduction to socio-legal research. It will be structured around an article, entitled $ùFour Quadrants of Jurisprudence&© by Sir Neil MacCormick (Regius Professor of Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations at Edinburgh University from 1973-2008) that compares four modes of legal scholarship and legal; research: $ùraw law&©, doctrinal law, $ùlaw in social science&© and $ùfundamental values and principles&©. Although the course will focus on $ùlaw in social science&© or $ùlaw and society&© research, it will first seek to assess the strengths and weaknesses of these four modes of legal enquiry, and then attempt to characterise and evaluate how, in different ways, the different modes of socio-legal research can contribute to an understanding of law and legal institutions. Reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of socio-legal research, the course is taught by a team of teachers from the School of Social and Political Studies and the School of Law. It is intended both for students with a background in the social sciences and/or in law and attempts to build on the knowledge or experience that students have already acquired.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course, students should have:
&· an understanding of a socio-legal approach to empirical research and the ways in which it differs from other approaches;
&· an understanding of some of the main forms of socio-legal research;
&· an ability to frame and design a piece of socio-legal research.
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Assessment Information
| A short assessment exercise half way through the course in which students will be asked to assess the contributions of different forms of socio-legal research to a subject of their own choice, and an extended essay in which students will be asked to design a piece of socio-legal research again on a subject of their own choice. Both pieces of assessed work will be marked by the course conveners. |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Not entered |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Not entered |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Michael Adler
Tel: (0131 6)50 3931
Email: |
Course secretary | Mrs Gillian Macdonald
Tel: (0131 6)51 3244
Email: |
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