Undergraduate Module Descriptor

LAW3155: Law, Politics and Power

This module descriptor refers to the 2018/9 academic year.

Module Aims

The aim of the module is to give you the opportunity to question the nature of law and its place in society through active discussion of a range of critical and theoretical perspectives. Drawing on the teaching team’s research expertise, the module aims to enable you to develop your own critical, research-based perspectives and to provide you with unique interdisciplinary learning opportunities, as it is envisaged that the innovative cyclical pattern of lectures and interactive workshops will engender particularly rich discussions. Focusing on the development of independent student research skills, critical thinking, and specifically the use of critical theoretical approaches to challenge assumptions, the module aims to give you the opportunity to develop capacities that are particularly valued by employers.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. Demonstrate a thorough and critical knowledge and understanding of various theories of law, using a wide range of appropriate concepts, interpretative techniques and terminology 2. Research a legal question independently and demonstrate competence in applying relevant theories selectively and critically in order to formulate and evaluate a response to it 3. Demonstrate detailed and accurate understanding of some of the relevant legal practice, social, economic, political, historical, philosophical, ethical and cultural contexts within which theories of law have been developed and operate
Discipline-Specific Skills	4. Make an independent and effective critical judgement about the merits and relevance of particular information and make reasoned choices between alternative solutions or arguments 5. Communicate technical legal information and argument effectively, concisely and reflectively, orally and in writing, in an appropriate manner and in task-specific ways
Personal and Key Skills	6. Identify, retrieve and use, independently and efficiently, a range of library-based and electronic resources with minimum guidance 7. Manage time independently and efficiently in preparing for learning activities, to be proactive in developing own learning, and to work independently within a limited time frame to complete a specified task

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s content may vary, it is envisaged that it will cover eight topics organized under some or all of the following thematic headings in the order indicated. As the module will be team-taught, your study will be focussed on, and organized around, key linking questions and problems in order to support continuity and cohesive coverage.

- The nature of law: historical manifestations; sociological and political foundations; concepts of society, social organisation and the role of rules; understanding critical perspectives and the use of theory;

- Law, order and justice: law and the maintenance of order; law and regulation; theoretical perspectives on law and its relationship with justice; law, justice and political power;

- Law and obedience, legality and legitimacy: questioning why we obey the law; law, order and civil disobedience; theoretical concepts of legality and legitimacy; the problem of unjust and evil laws;

- Law, culture and humanity: law, text and context; legal rules and reductive analysis; law and humanity, law and humanities; cultural complexity within and beyond the law;

- Law, politics and the state: law’s relationship with politics and economics; Marxist theory; Critical Legal Studies; theories of state and the role of law – Marxist, Fascist and liberal-democratic models;

- Law and power, judgment and punishment: theories of law and power; law and judgment; law, coercion and punishment; law and violence;

- Law and the individual: concepts and theories of human rights; human rights as culturally specific; critiques of human rights;

- Law, politics and the significance of time: concepts of time; relationships among law, politics and time; connecting past, present and future through law; the critical role of time in legal analysis;

- Law, race and gender: law and the power of abstraction; critical race theory; feminist theory; critical questions of law and gender; law and discrimination (considered over one or two cycles)

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
42	258	0

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities	2	1 x 1 hour lecture in first week of module to outline module format, ILOs and assessment; 1 x 1 hour lecture in last week of module to conclude and give exam guidance
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity	16	1 x 2 hour introductory lecture for each of 8 topic cycles
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity	24	2 x 1.5 hour workshop for each of 8 topics (first tutor led; second student- led with tutor guidance)
Guided independent study	64	8 hours reading before and/or after each lecture
Guided Independent study	96	4 hours reading before and after each workshop
Guided Independent Study	98	Reading, revision and preparation for the assessment

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

Critical Legal Thinking: http://criticallegalthinking.com

Other Learning Resources

Lecture/ topic outlines, reading lists, further URL links and other material will be provided on ELE.