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Law, Anthropology and Colonialism

Overview

  • Credit value: 15 credits at Level 5
  • Convenor: to be confirmed

Module description

This module starts by looking at the nature of the comparative subject and at the historical development of 'legal anthropology'. The main questions are: what is law, and in what senses can there be an anthropology of law? You will then have the opportunity to study in detail some of the key texts of early legal anthropology.

The module then asks to what extent are local political processes autonomous within a colonial context? How should we understand the 'local' - the traditional object of study of anthropology - and the 'global'? How might this help us to conceptualise the impact of colonialism on 'local' political institutions such as the chieftainship? How was the role of law in the colonial project conceived in the Metropolis? What happens to local legal culture under colonial encapsulation? What do we see as the provenance of contemporary 'customary' law?

Learning objectives

In this module, we will:

  • consider the nature and application of academic writings on legal anthropology
  • examine the content and critiques of legal anthropological studies
  • chart the development of this subject
  • examine the legal and cultural dimensions of the debates around colonial impact, power and resistance
  • situate the discussion of law and anthropology within postcolonial theory and discourse.