Module LAWM689 for 2019/0
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Postgraduate Module Descriptor
LAWM689: The Family, Law and Social Change
This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.
Module Aims
This module will through the lens of family law and policy critically examine the way in which law responds to social change. It aims to evaluate the theoretical explanations for the nature of this relationship, the doctrinal influences on a domestic and international level and the direct and indirect impact on it of inter-disciplinary socio-legal research.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. engage in critical reading of national and international theoretical, doctrinal and socio-legal writing on family law to achieve a developed understanding of the various critiques of the relationship between the family, law and society 2. appreciate the sometimes controversial role of socio-legal research in uncovering and identifying the changing processes and social developments which lie behind it. |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. develop an inter-disciplinary approach to socio-legal issues, express their own thoughts on the topics studied, such as sociological, political or policy-oriented reflections 4. combine and draw on both theoretical approaches and inter-disciplinary empirical research, while demonstrating the ability to address competing arguments |
| Personal and Key Skills | 5. capacity to conduct independent study and group work and meet deadlines 6. develop critical approach to legal and socio-legal research in the family law and policy domain 7. develop high level of competence in accessing legal and socio-legal bibliographic sources 8. assemble systematic and sustained argument orally and in writing in a family law context |
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 assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oral presentation to the group, and class participation | A 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. | 1-8 | Oral 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.
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 100 | Maximum 3,750 words | 1-8 | Written 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 assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | Essay (Maximum 3,750 words) | 1-8 | Next 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).
