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Law and the Body

Overview

  • Credit value: 30 credits at Level 7

Module description

Law and the Body provides an opportunity to examine the way the body is figured within and figures the law. The title of the course is designed to explore and support a wide range of studies examining the interface between law and the body which includes some of the more obvious issues such as women’s rights, racial and ethnic rights, lesbian and gay rights and related issues of discrimination and equality in all of these identity focused areas. It is also a course that can embrace a wide diversity of human rights and criminal justice issues. Other areas such as medicine and law, property law, and even company law, where the body is a central theme, provide contexts in which to explore themes of the body in law.

The course themes and readings for this academic year provide a series of case studies that explore different social characterisations of the body. They also showcase a diverse range of approaches to the study of law: some are concerned with an exploration of law and a social phenomenon; some have a more professional focus; some are concerned with social policy in law; some have a more jurisprudential (legal philosophical) approach. The case studies also cross a range of different legal contexts. The readings provide an opportunity to develop knowledge about different approaches to the body found in law.