General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW3211 |
| Course name: | Critical Theory in Legal Scholarship |
| Programme offered under: | LLB Programme |
| Semester: | Second |
| Designated research course: | Not applicable |
| Specialization: | Not applicable |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Course offered to non-law students: | No |
| Credit point value: | 6 credits |
1.2 Course description
How can something unjust be considered legal? In a world full of inequalities, the law often plays a crucial role in creating the conditions that allow injustice to occur. For example, strict property laws can lead to dispossession and social exclusion. The supposed equality between parties in a contract often hides significant imbalances in bargaining power. Legal distinctions like “formal” and “informal” labour can obscure important issues such as care and domestic work, gender relations, and other social hierarchies. These circumstances can be said to be unfair or unjust, but they are normally not illegal. How come?
This course will address these issues by emphasising active student participation through seminars, short essays, and peer feedback. Readings will be kept short and targeted, and the selection of cases and supplementary materials will be made in class to make them as enjoyable and useful as possible.These activities will help facilitate discussions on various forms of structural and often invisible inequalities.
The course is divided into three main sections. The first section focuses on theoretical foundations, providing a common framework for students to critically engage with the material. The second section examines the relationship between legal theory and real-world outcomes, exploring the tensions between what the law prescribes and what actually happens in practice. The final section explores potential ways for critical intervention and change.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Daniel Augusto Pinheiro Astone | TBA | N/A | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 The course is designed so as to develop critical thinking as a competence more than as a repertoire of classical texts. In this sense, it aims to improve critical thinking by actively engaging with concrete examples through structured peer discussions. Students will also get acquainted with academic writing, presentation of research material and delivering constructive feedback.
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 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Due date | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Active in-class engagement | TBC | 50% | 1 | |
| Seminar presentation | TBC | 25% | 1 | |
| Short essays | TBC | 25% | 1 |
| *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
To be advised by course convenor(s).
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 12 teaching weeks |
| Private study time: | 9.5 hours / week for 12 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 course convenor(s).
Learning Resources
5.1 Resources
| Reading materials: | Reading materials are posted on Moodle |
| Core reading list: |
|
| Recommended reading list: | TBA |
5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/