General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW3172 & LALS3012 |
| Course name: | Law and Social Theory |
| Programme offered under: | LLB Programme / BA&LLB Programme |
| Semester: | First |
| Designated research course: | Yes |
| Specialization: | Not applicable |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | Normally an Introduction to Legal Theory course or its equivalent |
| Course offered to non-law students: | No |
| Credit point value: | 6 credits |
1.2 Course description
Most people, lawyers included, take for granted the more or less stable conditions of modern society within which law operates. But these conditions are the result of the development and operation of a range of social forces and institutional forms many of which are not immediately visible. They developed historically and they form the basis of much unreflective social understanding and action. Most of us operate within these structures, but rarely think about them, nor about what individuals and groups contribute to them. As Michel Foucault noted: ‘People know what they do; frequently they know why they do what they do; but what they don’t know is what what they do does.’
One of the core aims of this course is to investigate in a systematic way the social conditions within which law operates, learning from the insights of some of the key thinkers about modern society. The course will thus develop students’ knowledge of the basic paradigms of social theory as they relate to law.
Topics to be covered include: competing theoretical accounts of law in modernity; law, conflict, and social solidarity; law, gender and structures of inequality; modern law and economic development; disciplinary and bio-political power; and the challenges of climate change and digital governance for modern law.
By developing a critical understanding of the relationship between law and social theory students will be able to assess the differences between diverse theoretical approaches and develop and articulate their own understanding of the appropriate paradigms for analysis in legal and social theory. The aim is therefore to deepen students’ understanding of contemporary law and legal institutions in their social context.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Scott Veitch | veitch@hku.hk | CCT 409 | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Demonstrate a familiarity with a range of socio-theoretical analyses of law and legal institutions.
CLO 2 Assess critically the differences between diverse theoretical approaches.
CLO 3 Apply social theoretical methods to legal problems or issues.
CLO 4 Articulate in writing and orally your own understanding of the appropriate ways of analysing law’s role in modern society.
2.2 LLB Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Please refer to the following link: https://course.law.hku.hk/llb-plo/
2.3 Programme Learning Outcomes to be achieved in this course
| PLO A | PLO B | PLO C | PLO D | PLO E | PLO F | |
| CLO 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 3 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 4 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Due date | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Oral presentation | TBC | 20% | 3, 5 | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| Essay | TBC | 80% | 2, 3 | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| *Feedback method (to be determined by course teacher) | |
| 1 | A general course report to be disseminated through Moodle |
| 2 | Individual feedback to be disseminated by email / through Moodle |
| 3 | Individual review meeting upon appointment |
| 4 | Group review meeting |
| 5 | In-class verbal feedback |
3.2 Assessment Detail
- 20% individual oral presentation
- 80% essay (5,000 words)
3.3 Grading Criteria
Please refer to the following link: https://www.law.hku.hk/_files/law_programme_grade_descriptors.pdf
Learning Activities
4.1 Learning Activity Plan
| Seminar: | 3 hours / week for 11 teaching weeks |
| Private study time: | 9.5 hours / week for 11 teaching weeks |
Remarks: the normative student study load per credit unit is 25 ± 5 hours (ie. 150 ± 30 hours for a 6-credit course), which includes all learning activities and experiences within and outside of classroom, and any assessment task and examinations and associated preparations.
4.2 Details of Learning Activities
To be advised by the convenor(s).
Learning Resources
5.1 Resources
| Reading materials: | Reading materials are posted on Moodle |
| Core reading list: | TBA |
| Recommended reading list: | TBA |
5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/