Postgraduate Module Descriptor


LAWM689: The Family, Law and Social Change

This module descriptor refers to the 2016/7 academic year.

How this Module is Assessed

In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.

Formative Assessment

A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.

Form of assessmentSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Oral presentation to the group, and class participationA 20-30 minute oral presentation to the group critiquing an article relevant to the student's essay topic. The presentation will be formatively assessed and does not count towards the end-of-module assessment, though the material covered therein may be used as the basis for the assessed essay.1-8Oral and or written feedback

Summative Assessment

A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.

CourseworkWritten examsPractical exams
10000

...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.

Form of assessment% of creditSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Essay100Maximum 3,750 words1-8Written feedback

Re-assessment

Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.

Original form of assessmentForm of re-assessmentILOs re-assessedTimescale for re-assessment
EssayEssay (Maximum 3,750 words)1-8Next reassessment period

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

Bailey-Harris, Rebecca (1996) Law and the Unmarried Couple Oppression or Liberation? 8(2) Child and Family Law Quarterly 137-147.
Bala, Nicholas and Bromwich, Rebecca (2002) Context and Inclusivity in Canadas Evolving Definition of the Family International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family 16:145-180.
Barlow, Duncan James and Park (2005) Cohabitation, Marriage and the Law Oxford: Hart
Barlow and Probert (2004) Regulating Marriage and Cohabitation: Changing Family Values and Policies in Europe and North America 26 (1) Law and Policy 1
K. Boele-Woelki and A. Fuchs (eds) (2001) Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Couples in Europe Antwerp: Intersentia
Bradley, David, (1996) Family Law and Political Culture. London: Sweet and Maxwell.
Bradley, David (2001) Regulation of unmarried cohabitation in West-European Jurisdictions Determinants of Legal Policy International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family 15:22 50
Cooke, Elizabeth (2001) "White v White: a new yardstick for the marriage partnership" Child and Family Law Quarterly 81
Roger Cotterrell (1992 second ed) The Sociology of Law: An Introduction. (London: Butterworth).
Day-Sclater, S (2000) Families London: Hodder and Stoughton
Jones, C., Why Donor Insemination Requires Developments in Family Law: The Need for New Definitions of Parenthood. Edwin Mellen Press. 2007
Jones, C., The identification of parents and siblings: new possibilities under the reformed Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act in Herring, J., Wallbank, J and Choudhry, S., (eds) Rights, Gender and Family Law, Oxford, Routledge-Cavendish: Glasshouse press, 2009.
J. Dewar, The Normal Chaos of Family Law (1998) 61 MLR 467, 470
Eekelaar, J and Thandabantu N, (1998) The Changing Family Oxford:Hart
Fortin, J (2003) Childrens Rights and the Developing Law London: Butterworths.
Foucault, M. 2003. Society Must Be Defended, Lectures at the College de France 19751976, Penguin Books, pg. 6-11.
Freeman, Michael D.A., (1984) Legal Ideologies, Patriarchal Precedents, and Domestic Violence. In The State, the Law and the Family: Critical Perspectives, edited by M. D.A Freeman. London:Tavistock.
Glendon, Mary Ann, (1981) The New Family and the New Property Toronto: Butterworths.
Herman, J. L. 1992. Trauma and recovery, New York, NY, BasicBooks, chapter 4 Captivity
Home Office (1998) Supporting Families. London: Home Office.
King, Michael and Piper, Christine (1995) How the Law Thinks about Children Aldershot: Arena.
Lewis, Jane, (2001) The End of Marriage?, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Maclean, M. (ed) (2005) Family Law and Family Values Oxford: Hart
ODonovan, K. (1993) Family Law Matters London: Pluto
Smart, Carol (1989) Feminism and the Power of Law London: Routledge
Gunther Teubner (1993) Law as an Autopoietic System (Oxford, UK; Cambridge, Mass., USA: Blackwell Publishers).