 Overview:This course will explore the interaction and interdependence of social norms and formal legal rules. Norms provide social rules, distinct from formal laws, of expected behavioral responses to particular situations and back up those expectations with the threat of negative sanction if an individual behaves inappropriately. Social norms also provide cognitive categories for perceiving, making sense of, and ordering one's experiences.We will examine issues such as: To what degree do different legal rules harness, enhance, displace, or subvert the substance of particular social norms and what effects follow? Should we utilize legal rules only when social norms fail to control harmful behavior? How do particular norms develop and then expand or dissipate in their influence over time and in different settings? Are norms typically generated through a widespread consensus of the members of a society, or are they the product of special interests? We will explore these issues using examples from various areas of legal doctrine, such as property, contracts and bargaining, crime, torts, and taxation. Instructor: Chris Fennell (MA, U. Pennsylvania, 1986; JD, Georgetown U., 1989; Ph.D., U. Virginia, 2003) is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Law. Additional course documents for this seminar are available on the internet, including:
Sources on Anthropology and Law Sources on Analysis of Social Group Identities Required Texts:The following required texts are available at the University bookstore, or can be purchased through internet booksellers. A copy of each book will also be available on reserve hold at the school library.Social Norms, edited by Michael Hechter and Karl-Dieter Opp. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2001. Law and Social Norms, by Eric Posner. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2000. Order Without Law: How Neighbors Settle Disputes, by Robert Ellickson. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1991. Symposium Issue on Social Norms, Social Meaning, and the Economic Analysis of Law, edited by Daniel Kahan and Lawrence Lessig. In Journal of Legal Studies, Vol. 27(2), Part 2. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, June, 1998. In addition, excerpts from films such as the following may be shown in class: House of Games, written and directed by David Mamet (2000), providing dramatic depiction of techniques for shifting another person's behavioral heuristics. Mirror, Mirror, a documentary in the BBC series "Nationalism, Blood and Belonging," written by Michael Ignatieff (1994), providing examination of dynamics of social group identities and inter-group interactions and conflicts. Pragmatism v. The Rule of Law, Judge Richard Posner's commentary (1991), addressing pragmatists' approach of assessing compatability of formal laws and social norm sensibilities. Merchants of Cool, a documentary in the PBS Frontline series (1999), providing an examiniation of a type of norm entrepreneurs in the form of style marketers, and methods of manipulating media of social signaling. The Intersection of Religion, Government, and Social Needs, MacNeil/Lehrer Productions (2001), a debate of faith-based initiatives and application of government funding to community assistance programs run by churches, synagogues, mosques, and other local community groups. Course Requirements:This course is an elective for law school students and anthropology and sociology graduate students. No prerequisites are required. Evaluation for this course will be based on active and thoughtful participation in discussions, short writing assignments, and a final exam including essay questions.Maintained by Chris Fennell |
