University of Essex

LW301-6-AU-CO:
Jurisprudence

The details

Year: 2023/24

Department: Essex Law School

Campus: Colchester Campus

Term: Autumn

Level: Undergraduate: Level 6

Status: Current

Start date: Thursday 05 October 2023

End date: Friday 15 December 2023

Credits: 15

Last updated: 16 October 2023

Requisites for this module

Pre-requisites: (none)

Co-requisites: (none)

Pre and / or co-requisites: (none)

Prohibited modules: (none)

Key module (requisite for): (none)

Key module for

LLB M107 Law (Including Placement Year),
LLB M107DE Law (Including Placement Year),
LLB M120 Law (Including Year Abroad),
MLAWMA98 Law (Including Placement Year),
MLAWMA99 Law (Including Year Abroad),
LLB MV06 Law with Philosophy (Including Foundation Year),
LLB MV16 Law with Philosophy,
LLB MV18 Law with Philosophy (Including Year Abroad),
LLB MV19 Law with Philosophy (Including Placement Year)

Module description

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, on the one hand, and politics, markets, and social justice on the other. 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.

Module aims

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.

Module learning outcomes

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.

Module information

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

Learning and teaching methods

This module will be taught via weekly lectures and fortnightly tutorials. The module teaching team will upload all relevant teaching materials on Moodle. You will find reading lists, the textbook, weekly handouts and PPS notes on Moodle. The materials in question are designed both to help you navigate the material to be covered in the lectures and tutorials and to equip you to analyse the required readings. You will be expected to have completed the required readings in advance of your tutorials. Your tutorials will enable you to discuss the material covered in lectures and the required readings, obtain feedback on your pre-class preparation and deepen your understanding of key concepts. To help you prepare in the best possible way for your tutorials, you will be completing regular Multiple-Choice Quizzes on Moodle. The quizzes will be based on the reading set for that week so that the quiz forms part of your preparation for each tutorial. The quizzes will enable you to track your progress, understand what you are doing well, and give you clear feedback to help you manage your studies and your progress.

Bibliography

Bix, B. (2023d) Jurisprudence: theory and context. Ninth edition. London: Sweet & Maxwell. Available at: https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/2434461.
Hart, H.L.A. et al. (2012) The Concept of Law. 3rd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Available at: https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/he/9780199644704.001.0001.
Ronald Dworkin (2013a) ‘The Model of Rules I’, in Taking Rights Seriously. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/reader.action?docID=5328246&ppg=36.
Dworkin, R. (1967) ‘The Model of Rules’, University of Chicago Law Review, 35, pp. 14–46. Available at: https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/uclr35&i=24.
Fuller, L. L. (1949) ‘The Case of the Speluncean Explorers’, Harvard Law Review, 62, pp. 616–645. Available at: https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/hlr62&i=658.
Dworkin, R. (1985) ‘Law’s Ambitions for Itself’, Virginia Law Review, 71(2). Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/1073016.
Aileen Kavanagh (no date) ‘Participation and Judicial Review: A Reply to Jeremy Waldron’, Law and Philosophy [Preprint]. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3505148?refreqid=excelsior%3A39010b31e8b42331a6f0e58f59ed1db3&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents.
Waldron, J. . (no date) ‘The Core of the Case against Judicial Review’, Yale Law Journal, 115(6). Available at: https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?public=false&handle=hein.journals/ylr115&id=1366.
Dworkin, G. (1972) ‘Paternalism’, Monist, 56(1), pp. 64–84. Available at: https://doi.org/10.5840/monist197256119.
Raz, J. (1986a) The morality of freedom. Oxford: Clarendon. Available at: https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/0198248075.001.0001.
Nagel, T. (1995) ‘Personal Rights and Public Space’, Philosophy & Public Affairs, 24(2). Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2265389?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents.
FEINBERG, J. (1992) ‘In Defence of Moral Rights’, Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 12(2), pp. 149–169. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/ojls/12.2.149.
Joxerramon (2020) ‘Legal Theory and the Sociology of Law’, in J. Pribán (ed.) Research Handbook on the Sociology of Law. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. Available at: https://www-elgaronline-com.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/display/edcoll/9781789905175/9781789905175.00008.xml.
Alan (2010) ‘Marxist Theory of Law’, in A companion to philosophy of law and legal theory. 2nd ed. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. Available at: https://search-ebscohost-com.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=309420.
Wacks, R. (2021b) Understanding jurisprudence: an introduction to legal theory. Sixth edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/he/9780198864677.001.0001.
HLA Hart (1958) ‘Positivism and the Separation of Law and Morals’, Harvard Law Review, 71(4), pp. 593–629. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1338225.
Ronald Dworkin (2013b) ‘The Model of Rules I’, in Taking Rights Seriously. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/reader.action?docID=5328246&ppg=36.
H. L. A. Hart (2015) ‘Postscript’, in The Concept of Law. Oxford University Press. Available at: https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/he/9780199644704.003.0011.
Waldron, J. (2006) ‘The Core of the Case against Judicial Review’, Yale Law Journal, 115(6), pp. 1346–1407. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20455656.
Aileen Kavanagh (2003) ‘Participation and Judicial Review: A Reply to Jeremy Waldron’, Law and Philosophy, 22(5), pp. 451–486. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3505148.
Dimitrios Kyritsis (2006) ‘Representation and Waldron’s Objection to Judicial Review’, Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 26(4), pp. 733–751. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4494565.
Arneson, R.J. (1980) ‘Mill versus Paternalism’, Ethics, 90(4), pp. 470–489. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2380448.
Dworkin, G. (1971) ‘Paternalism’, in R.A. Wasserstrom (ed.) Morality and the Law. Wadsworth Publishing Company, pp. 181–188. Available at: http://www.sjsu.edu/people/paul.bashaw/courses/phil186fall2012/s1/Paternalism.pdf.
Feinberg, J. (1986) The moral limits of the criminal law: Volume 3: Harm to self Chapters 17, 18, 19. New York: Oxford University Press. Available at: https://essex.alma.exlibrisgroup.com/view/action/uresolver.do?operation=resolveService&package_service_id=1987983170007346&institutionId=7346&customerId=7345.
Hurka, T. (1996) Perfectionism, Introduction only. New York: Oxford University Press. Available at: https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/0195101162.001.0001.
Raz, J. (1986b) The morality of freedom, Chapters 5, 14, and 15. Oxford: Clarendon. Available at: https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/0198248075.001.0001.

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	Coursework weighting
Coursework	Formative Essay (LW301 Jurisprudence)	0%
Coursework	Multiple Choice Questions - Continuous Assessment (LW301 Jurisprudence)	20%
Coursework	Essay (LW301 Jurisprudence)	80%

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

Coursework	Exam
100%	0%

Reassessment

Coursework	Exam
100%	0%

Module supervisor and teaching staff

Supervisor: Dr Konstantinos Kalliris, email: konstantinos.kalliris@essex.ac.uk.

Teaching staff:

Contact details: Law Education Office, lawschoolug@essex.ac.uk

Availability

Available to incoming Essex Abroad / Exchange students: Yes

Available to Outside Option: No

Available to Audit: Yes

External examiner

Name: Dr Paolo Sandro

Institution: University of Salford

Academic role: Lecturer in Law

Resources

Teaching materials: Available via Moodle

Lecture recording: Of 48 hours, 20 (41.7%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
28 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.

Further information

Department website: Essex Law School

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The full Procedures, Rules and Regulations of the University governing how it operates are set out in the Charter, Statutes and Ordinances and in the University Regulations, Policy and Procedures.

Module Directory

LW301-6-AU-CO:Jurisprudence