Saint-Louis University - Bruxelles
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DRAN1217 - Legal history



Credits : 6

Lecturer :
Mode of delivery :
Face-to-face , first term, 60 hours of theory.

Timetable :
First term
Monday from 13:30 to 15:30 at 119 Marais 2100
Wednesday from 10:45 to 12:45 at 119 Marais 2100

Language of instruction :
English

Learning outcomes :
The course aims to critically think about the laws that regulate our lives today as (inter)national citizens. It does so by looking into the complex historical processes of law-making. You will learn to analyse:

- The main shifts in the legal orders of the 19th and 20th centuries;
- Fundamental concepts (such as codification, human rights, citizenship, equality, transitional justice) in their historical context;
- Interactions between socio-political and legal dynamics;
- The actors of legal change;
- The legal framework of the colonial order;
- The construction of the laws of war.

Over a short 600-word paper (in groups of 2 students), you will produce an original analysis of topics discussed in class.


Prerequisites :
For the Bachelor in Law :


Co-requisites :
None

Course contents :
This course examines legal change in Belgium in an increasingly globalised world since the 19th century. It presents and confronts different genealogies and approaches to the law from a comparative perspective. The course has three parts: (1) From subjects to citizens (2) From national to international codification, and (3) Justice after War and Genocide.
For each theme, it first presents founding texts in contemporary legal history. It then examines the social and political contexts of claims of rights. Finally, it addresses the causes and consequences of the transformation of legal institutions in a historical perspective.
The course puts particular emphasis on Europe, the United States and Africa during the XIXth and the XXth centuries.


Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
This is a lecture-based course. However, it includes discussion sessions with active participation. One short paper, chosen from four proposed themes, should be submitted on time and is part of the final grade. Required readings are part of the course and will be discussed in class. The course includes invited lectures.

Assessment methods and criteria :
The final grade will be based upon the following:
1 final exam (January 2018): 85% (17/20)
1 short 600-word paper based on the required texts (1 of 4 proposals): 15% (3/20) due on 8 October, 24 October, 19 November or 26 November 2018. Papers not submitted on time will not be accepted in second session.


Recommended or required reading :
The following texts are required for the course:
1. Shanti Marie Singham, « Betwixt Cattle and Men. Jews, Blacks, and Women, and the Declaration of the Rights of Man », in Dale Van Kley (ed.), The French Idea of Freedom. The Old Regime and the Declaration of Rights of 1789, Stanford University Press, 1995, p. 114-153.
2. « The Empire of Law », in Mark Mazower, Governing the World. The History of an Idea, Penguin Books, 2012, p. 65-93.
3. « Law's Subjects. Individual Responsibility and Collective Guilt », in Gerry Simpson, Law, War, and Crime. War Crimes Trials and the Reinvention of International Law, Polity Press, 2007, p. 54-78.
4. « Nuremberg » and « Judgment », in Philippe Sands, East West Street. On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity, Penguin Books, 2017, p. 275-313/327-375.

You may download them directly from the Moodle platform or request them at the reprographie. Sand's book is available for purchase. Mazower's and Sand's books are available at the University library too.


Other information :
Office hours: immediately after class on Mondays, from 3.30 to 5.00pm (Office F13 via Marais 119, last floor, in the staircase)