Linguistic and legal ethnography and anthropology 3223-ILC2-LLEE
Emphasizing ethnographic research practices, interpretative analysis, and holistic approaches, students will investigate cultural practices that lead to law creation and transference of legal knowledge.
The course will address the relationship between law, language, and culture in order to:
1. introduce students to ethnographic research practices for investigating cultural phenomena in urban communities, institutions, and deterritorialized/virtual spaces.
2. develop skills in interpretative analysis, enabling students to extract and describe cultural meanings given to social phenomena by interlocutors, with sensitivity to unequal power relations and conflicts.
3. explore holistic research on law within its social context, understanding it as a cultural product co-constituted with other normative orders.
4. analyze the dynamic relationship between law and culture, examining how law functions in linguistic, social, and professional practices, and as an ideology shaping power relations.
5. focus on disputes, legal forms, and material products of law as central subjects of ethnographic research, exploring their cultural implications.
6. examine the process of "translating" culture into asymmetric fields of power, revealing meanings in context.
7. instill a strong foundation in researcher's ethics, emphasizing the principle of epistemological and ethical reflectivity.
Topics covered in the classes include, among others, the following issues:
What is ethnography and anthropology
What is law and legal systems, law as a cultural practice
Language, law, and power
Race, ethnicity, gender identity, and the law
Customs, oral traditions, and codification
Indigenous populations and human rights
Legal status of languages, language laws, freedom of speech, language crimes
Language in the courtroom
(The topics may be adjusted based on participants' interests).
Mode
Prerequisites (description)
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
Skills: the graduate is able to
S2_U01 use the theoretical knowledge in the field of law and linguistics to solve complex problems in the field of
international legal communication by making a creative interpretation of a legal text, proper selection of
sources of law, and making an adequate assessment of the method of transferring knowledge about law and
selecting transference strategies appropriate for the context and recipients of law - K_U01, K_U02, K_U03
S2_U02 use the knowledge of research methodologies used in international legal communication to plan and
conduct methodologically correct scientific research in the field of knowledge transference of law
knowledge, analyze its results and determine its implications
K_U02, K_U03, K_U06
S2_U03 communicate on issues related to the transfer of knowledge about law in a way that is also understandable
for non-specialists and adequately justify the methodological decisions made, as well as conduct a
discussion on the transfer of knowledge about law, understood both as a process and a product, taking into
account various points of view and the latest results research
K_U03, K_U04, K_U05, K_U06
Social competences: the graduate is ready to:
S2_K01 recognizing the importance of the latest domain knowledge for the critical appraisal of para-legal texts,
including being cautious and critical in expressing these judgments
K_K01, K_K05
S2_K02 maintaining openness to knowledge, including knowledge of linguistics, for the purposes of solving problems
related to the transference of knowledge about law
K_K01, K_K02, K_K04, K_K05
S2_K03 sensitizing oneself and the environment to the importance of research to improve the quality of information
about law and the accessibility of law in society, as well as disseminating knowledge about such research
K_K02, K_K03, K_K04, K_K05
Assessment criteria
written exam
grading scale
over 90% - 5
85%-89% – 4+
80%-84% – 4
70%-79% – 3+
60%-69% – 3
active participation in class
Practical placement
-
Bibliography
Selected papers from scientific journals (for example: International Journal of Speech, Language and the Law, International Journal of the Semiotics of Law, Language in Society, Law & Social Inquiry, Law & Society Review, Law, Culture and the Humanities, Research in Language and Social Interaction)
Just Words: Law, Language and Power, by John M. Conley and William M. O’Barr. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 2019.
Between Law and Culture: Relocating Legal Studies, edited by David T. Goldberg, Michael Musheno, and Lisa C. Bower. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. 2001.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: