LAW AND SOCIETY

Law and Society is a course that, in line with the Philosophy, International and Economic Studies program, aims to provide a toolkit for questioning and understanding the relationship between the legal and the social, between law—understood as a regulatory technique—and social structures.
The course begins by addressing the fundamental question of what law is and how it operates, before exploring its relationship with the social sciences. The objective of the course is to overcome a mechanical view and the logical or chronological priority between the social and the legal, in order to build a more articulated and dynamic understanding of their relationship. This understanding will extend to contemporary research questions concerning the constitutive role of law and its infrastructural form, and will address current issues where law is used in social struggles, such as in the movement for the commons or in climate struggles, where judicial actions are employed to advance political claims.

1. Develop the ability to question and understand the relationship between the legal and the social, exploring the role of law as a technique of social regulation.

2. Gain a deep understanding of the nature of law and its functioning through a critical analysis of its functions and operations.

3. Analyze the relationship between law and the social sciences.

4. Move beyond a mechanical and rigid view of the relationship between the social and the legal, adopting a more nuanced and dynamic perspective.

5. Delve into the contemporary debate on the instituting role of law and its infrastructural position.

There are no prerequisites for this course.

Main course contents and questions:

1. How does law work?
2. Ubi societas ibi ius?
3. How does one move from the individual to the collective?
4. How is the social instituted?
5. What does it mean to institute?
6. How can legal techniques be employed by social struggles?

Required readings: (selected chapters)
Yan Thomas, Legal Artifices: Ten Essays on Roman Law in the Present Tense, ed. by Thanos Zartaloudis, with Cooper Francis, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2021.
Chapters: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9

Selected Additional Readings
Hans Kelsen, ‘Law and Nature’ in Pure Theory of Law (multiple ed.)
Yan Thomas, ‘Imago naturae. Note sur l'institutionnalité de la nature à Rome’. In Théologie et droit dans la science politique de l'État moderne. Actes de la table ronde de Rome (12-14 novembre 1987) Rome : École Française de Rome, 1991. pp. 201-227.
Marie Angèle Hermitte, ‘Le droit est un autre monde’, Enquête, 7 (1999), pp. 17–37 <https://doi.org/10.4000/enquete.1553> ;.
Hans Kelsen, Il concetto di Stato e la psicologia sociale. Con particolare riguardo alla teoria delle masse di Freud (Der Begriff des Staates und die Sozialpsychologie. Mit besonderer Berücksichtigung von Freuds Theorie der Masse) / The conception of the state and social psychology : with special reference to Freud's group theory, The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, v.5, pt. 1, January 1924.
Gunther Teubner, ‘How the Law Thinks: Toward a Constructivist Epistemology of Law’, Law & Society Review, 1989, Vol. 23, No. 5 (1989), pp. 727-758.
Maria Rosaria Marella, The Commons as a Legal Concept. Law Critique 28, 61–86 (2017).

The exam will be conducted orally. To pass the exam, students must demonstrate that they have understood the texts discussed in class and can present them clearly and independently, using appropriate terminology and being able to identify and critically discuss the main points, showing that they have developed the ability to formulate an individual argument on the topic.

oral

The grading scale is in thirtieths:

Sufficient: 18-22/30
Good: 23-26/30
Very Good: 28-29
Excellent: 30/30 and 30 with honors

The course will mainly be held through lectures, but active participation from students is essential. Regular attendance is highly recommended for full engagement and more effective learning.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Climate change and energy" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development