Cultural Legal Studies (Advanced) module (LW41032)

This module aims to explore your understanding of law as a cultural phenomenon.

You will explore law as a material object by examining cultural tropes such as:

• film
• TV
• courtrooms
• statues
• horror stories
• judicial robes
• science fiction
• comics
• symbols
• narratives
• and visual art

You will learn to understand and engage with various representations and expressions of law, legality, and justice in modern culture. This should deepen and broaden your comprehension of the nature and questioning of law and legal methods.

What you will learn

In this module you will:

• expand your understanding of law and its cultural dimensions
• investigate law, legality, and justice in a cultural context
• develop critical tools to analyse representations of law in modern culture
• identify and explain various approaches to cultural legal understanding
• enhance skills in legal source analysis, academic reading, effective summarisation, and independent research

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• apply learned concepts through detailed cultural case studies
• show a deep comprehension of the nature of law and legal methods
• show transferable skills in time management, communication, and effective presentation
• appreciate, conceptualise, and communicate the complexity of the relationships between law and material culture
• conduct independent cultural legal research within the context of a case study. You will be able to use key legal skills such as interrogating, selecting, and using a range of legal sources

Assignments / assessment

• research essay (50%)
• poster (50%)

This module does not have a final exam.

Teaching methods / timetable

This module will be delivered through:

• 2-hour facilitated workshops every week
• two 3-hour sessions
  • each session will focus on a major case study in which you will present and discuss your independent work