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European perspectives on law and society: a comparative and historical approach
Law bottom-up: legal consciousness in Europe and Japan through the lens of the Hakamada-case
In this seminar we will discuss how citizens think about the law. This question has been central to research in the field of law and society worldwide. In a 'revival' of the classic question in this field, recent publications have proposed a new approach to thinking about law and the role that law plays in contemporary society. This new approach has been proposed most notably by the Dutch socio-legal scholar Marc Hertogh in his book 'Nobody's law: Legal consciousness and legal alienation in everyday life' (Springer, 2018). He starts from the observation that there is a crisis of the rule of law in Europe because people are 'alienated' from the law. Hertogh argues that law and society scholars need to take this crisis seriously to ensure the continued proper functioning of the legal system and thus a robust democracy.
In this seminar we will introduce the field of law and society by specifically analysing the question of legal consciousness (法意識) in relation to democracy. We will pay attention to classical research on legal consciousness in Japan, its content, methodology, social context, strengths, and weaknesses. We will then read Marc Hertogh's book and discuss whether his approach is new and relevant. What does this book mean for the study of law and society in Japan? Are law and democracy in Japan in a state of crisis like that in Europe? We will address these questions in a concrete case by researching the Hakamada case and studying it from different angles. In summary, this seminar will analyse law in society from a bottom-up perspective, i.e., from the perspective of the people and how this affects the legal system (hence we will keep the macroscopic and comparative perspective in mind). Students will be encouraged to raise questions, suggest readings, newspaper articles, films, etc. and present their insights on the Hakamada case.
Students will also be introduced to and conduct interviews with relevant actors to achieve the main objectives of this course, namely, firstly, to broaden the student's view of the changing role of law in society, secondly, to become familiar with the methodologies of socio-legal studies, and thirdly, to express and understand opinions and insights in English in a critical and constructive manner.
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