Syllabus
Lecture 1: Introduction: Anarchy or Obligation? Raz, The Authority of Law (Oxford 1979), Ch 12.
Lecture 2: Law as a Social Fact
Hart, The Concept of Law , chapters 5 - 6.
Lecture 3: Law & Morality
Dworkin, Taking Rights Seriously (London 1977), ch. 2 (‘Model of Rules I’). Raz, Authority, Law, and Morality, Chapter 10 in Ethics in the Public Domain.
Lecture 4: Law and Rights Joseph Raz, The Morality of Freedom, Ch: 7 The Nature of Rights.
Lecture 5: Reading Week
Lecture 6: Liberty and Justice John Gray, Hayek on Liberty, Chapter 3 “The Law of Liberty,” pp 56 - 78 Rawls, A Theory of Justice (Cambridge, Mass. 1971), sections 2 - 4, 6 - 11
Lecture 7: Solidarity and the Limitations of Liberalism Kymlicka, Contemporary Political Philosophy, Chapter 6 Michael J. Sandel, “The Procedural Republic and the Unencumbered Self”, Political Theory, 1984: 12, pp. 81- 96 .
Lecture 8: Liberalism and Its Discontents Bielefeldt, ‘Carl Schmitt’s Critique of Liberalism’ in Dyzenhaus (ed) pp. 23 - 36.
Lecture 9: Global Justice & Human Rights Tom Nagel, The Problem of Global Justice
Lecture 10: Discussion
Course Goals / Learning Outcomes:
On completion of the course, students will demonstrate an ability to state, analyse and evaluate the following:
· basic relations between law, justice and rights · theories of natural law and human rights · theories of legal system and legal order · basic approaches in the sociology of law
In addition, students will demonstrate an ability to
· think and argue about legal concepts, topics and issues · demonstrate skills of selecting relevant ideas, balancing and evaluating them · present concepts and arguments both orally and in written form coherently and effectively
Final Examination:
Essay or oral examination
Means of communication:
MS Teams
Annotation
The aim of the course is to enhance students' understanding of law by placing it in its theoretical, philosophical and sociological contexts.