Module LAW3155 for 2018/9
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
LAW3155: Law, Politics and Power
This module descriptor refers to the 2018/9 academic year.
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Participation in workshop discussions (this is relevant because each cycle includes two workshops, with the first leading into the second; also students will need to draw on workshop work for the summative reflective commentary) | Individual contributions in workshops | All | Comments from other students and tutor |
| Short essay voluntary submission of a draft section of, or plan for, the summative essay; draft or plan may be reworked and developed on basis of feedback in preparation for the summative essay | 1000 words | All | Written comments; oral feedback available on request |
| Mock exam - voluntary and self-marked | 2.5 hour | All | Sample exam paper with self-marking material and guidance made available on ELE; further guidance from tutor available on request |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | 50 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One essay comprising two parts: (1) 3000 word essay (from choice of two titles) (2) 750 word reflective commentary | 50 | 3750 total | All | Written; plus general feedback to be posted on ELE |
| Examination | 50 | 2.5 hours | All | General feedback to be posted on ELE after exam. Oral feedback available on request |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
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 as above | Essay as above | All | August / September re-assessment period |
| Examination | Examination (2.5 hours) | All | August/ September re-assessment 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.
NB This is not a required reading list – required readings for each topic cycle will be communicated via ELE.
General background reading:
A. Baron et al, Introduction to Jurisprudence and Legal Theory (OUP, 2002)
J. Coleman & S. Shapiro, The Oxford Handbook of Jurisprudence and Philosophy of Law (OUP, 2004)
R. Cotterrell, The Politics of Jurisprudence (OUP, 2003)
C. Douzinas & A. Geary, Critical Jurisprudence (Hart, 2005)
M. Freeman, Lloyd’s Introduction to Jurisprudence (Sweet & Maxwell, 2014)
W. Mansell, B. Meteyard & A. Thomson, A Critical Introduction to Law (Routledge, 2015)
V. Munro, Law and Politics at the Perimeter (Hart, 2007)
J. E. Penner & E. Melissaris, McCoubrey & White’s Textbook on Jurisprudence (OUP, 1999/ 2012)
N. E. Simmonds, Central Issues in Jurisprudence (Sweet & Maxwell, 2013)
I. Ward, An Introduction to Critical Legal Theory (Cavendish, 2004)
