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| College of Law | ||
Critical Legal Theory
This course will consider a movement called Critical Legal Studies (CLS), which essentially applies deconstructionist and postmodernist philosophy to legal theory. CLS is a form of jurisprudence that proposes that all law embodies "fundamental contradiction.” It further adopts, as a fundamental tenet, that all attempts to explain legal systems are apologetics to mask the fundamental contradiction inherent in law. To understand the normative thrust of CLS, this course will review the traditional explanations for legal systems --- positivism, natural law, legal realism and policy jurisprudence – all of which propose that our legal system is (can be?) coherent and self consistent. It will then explore how CLS reveals the contradictions within each of these legal philosophies and the law they purport to justify. Prerequisites: None