LW301-6-AU-CO:
Jurisprudence
2019/20
Essex Law School
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Undergraduate: Level 6
Current
Thursday 03 October 2019
Saturday 14 December 2019
15
05 August 2019
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
LLB M100 Law,
LLB M100MS Law,
LLB M101 Law (Including Foundation Year),
LLB M107 Law (Including Placement Year),
LLB M120 Law (Including Year Abroad),
MLAWM199 Law,
MLAWMA98 Law (Including Placement Year),
MLAWMA99 Law (Including Year Abroad)
Jurisprudence is a module that enables you to think in-depth about how law works and the impact it has on the society around us. For example: How is law different to other rules and principles? Should law reflect moral opinion, and if so, how do we decide what is moral? Can judges really be objective when they make decisions? How do we judge if law is making society fairer?
The module covers many key theoretical approaches to understanding what law is and how it functions. In doing so, we will look at the relationship (and conflicts) between law and politics, markets, and matters of social justice. You will be asked to think for yourself about these issues, and reflect on which perspectives provide us with the most accurate, and the most useful, ways of thinking about law.
The aim of the module is to introduce students to the main currents of thought about the nature and social functions of law and its relationship to morality and politics. A related aim is to improve students’ ability to reason critically and to argue.
Students should gain a basic understanding of the currents of thought referred to under ‘module aims’ above. They should also develop their capacity to reason critically and to demonstrate this ability in written work.
The syllabus is likely to include the following:
1. Natural law
2. Classical Legal Positivism
3. Legal Realism
4. Modern Legal Positivism, especially the theory of H.L.A. Hart
5. The legal theory of Lon Fuller
6. The legal theory of Ronald Dworkin
7. Marxist approaches to law
8. Critical Legal Studies
9. Feminist legal theory
10. Postmodernism and law
Two one-hour lectures per week
Fortnightly tutorials
- Dworkin, R. (1887-) 'Hard Cases', in Harvard Law Review. vol. 88, pp.1057-1109
- Dworkin, Ronald. (1977) 'Is law a system or rules?', in The Philosophy of law, London: Oxford University Press., pp.38-65
- Fuller, L. L. (1887-) 'The Case of the Speluncean Explorers', in Harvard Law Review. vol. 62, pp.616-645
- Hart, H. H. (1887-) 'Positivism and the Separation of Law and Morals', in Harvard Law Review. vol. 71 (4) , pp.593-629
The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course. The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students. Further reading can be obtained from this module's reading list.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
Formative Essay |
|
0% |
| Coursework |
Summative Essay |
|
100% |
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Tom Cornford, email: tomc@essex.ac.uk.
Dr Tom Cornford, Konstantinos Kalliris, Ronit Matar
Law General Office, 01206 872529, lawugadmin@essex.ac.uk
Yes
No
No
Dr Christopher Lloyd
Oxford Brookes University
Senior Lecturer
Available via Moodle
Of 84 hours, 20 (23.8%) hours available to students:
64 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s).
Essex Law School
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