Graduate Seminar in Sociology of Law

Catalog description

This course will address the classical and contemporary work on the sociology of law, how theorists such as Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Albert Venn Dicey, Roscoe Pound, Donald Black and others understood the role of law in society. The course will cover both the sociological and cultural-political approach as well the legal doctrinal approach, which examines judicial opinions and statutes. Through the analysis of case studies and statutes, graduate students in sociology, demography and other fields of knowledge enrolled in this course will also participate in the discussion of the legal aspects of various topics such as immigration, gender and sexuality, ethnicity and race, and environmental, population, and educational issues, among other topics. Coverage of other topics will be added to reflect other academic interests of students.