LAW 620 - Legal Pluralism, Conflict and Justice Seminar

Course Type: Upper Writing Requirement
Credits: 2

Description: This seminar explores the various ways in which such interactions can play out in a range of social, religious, and political environments, and the ways in which they can affect individuals of different statuses differently. Examples are drawn from a range of periods and places: the Roman Empire, the Middle East and South Asia past and present, the United States, and modern Europe. In each context, we examine the ways in which the legal status of individuals is defined in relation to the state, religious community, ethnicity or race, and social class. At each step, we ask: Given a complex environment with different, overlapping, often conflicting claims to authority (secular as well as sacred), rights, and obligations, how is justice to be defined, and how can it be served?