LW3JUR: Jurisprudence

Module code: LW3JUR

Module provider: School of Law

Credits: 20

Level: 6

When you'll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Mr Stuart Lakin, email: s.j.lakin@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: No

Last updated: 18 November 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module aims to provide students with a critical introduction to various approaches to legal and political philosophy. We will also sometimes draw on insights from other disciplines, such as social psychology. The module tackles questions such as;

• Must we obey all laws, just because they are laws? Are we morally permitted to disobesome laws? Do we have a moral duty to disobey unjust laws? If we do, why do some people collaborate with bad laws?
• Can an unjust law be valid? What is the relationship between law and morality?
• Are there objectively correct answers to all questions of law? Or are some legal questions indeterminate, requiring judges to use their discretion and make new law? Must judges always give effect to the law? Is there a difference between law and adjudication? What are rights? Why do they matter? Is there a difference between moral and legal rights?
• What is good, if anything, about being governed by laws, rather than through administrative or managerial discretion? How is the rule of law best understood?
• Is democracy a good thing? What makes it so? Should States redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor? What is the best understanding of socio-economic justice?
• Is law inherently unfair e.g. towards women, ethnic minorities, people with different sexualities?

Theorists have been thinking and writing about these types of questions for millennia. Our aim is to explore and critique a selection of their theories, past and present. The questions we will choose to address each year may vary.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Outline and draw upon ongoing debates over the connections between law, morality, society and politics.
2. Critically evaluate competing theses regarding key questions about law and justice, and articulate coherent arguments (both written and oral) in support of theoretical positions.
3. Contrast theories regarding the nature of legal reasoning and the disparate social forces acting upon its operation.
4. Examine how different theories of law, justice, rights, etc figure in leading works of literature.

Module content

• Theories of law (e.g. Natural Law, Legal Positivism, etc).
• Critical approaches to jurisprudence (e.g. Critical Legal Studies, Feminism, Critical Race Theory & Postmodernism).
• Rights-based theories and legal reasoning (e.g. identity politics in law and interpretative frameworks).
• Key topics in political philosophy (e.g. justice, democracy, rule of law)
• Law, philosophy and literature.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

There will be 11 hours of lectures, 18 hours of seminars, and 11 hours of blended activities.   

The lectures will give an overview of each of the topics to be assessed on the module. They will be run as hybrid lecture-seminars, with considerable scope for student-instructor interaction.

The blended activities will include:

• Assessed presentations, functioning as peer led seminars.
• Guidance on essay writing, presentation and revision

Tutorial activities will include:

• Examining theoretical debates about law through selected works of literature.
• Consolidation of student knowledge and understanding of the course content.

Study hours

At least 32 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

A two-page essay with prescribed reading. Submission date: end of week 7 Teaching

Reassessment

Additional costs