Undergraduate Course: Contemporary Law and Development (LAWS10234)
Course Outline
| School | School of Law |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | What, if anything, is development - and what role does law play in its theories and practices? Building on the "Theory and Practice of Law and Development" course, we will turn to how economic theories and legal ideas emerge in some key modern issues, including security, the rule of law, and social and environmental sustainability. |
| Course description |
What, if anything, is development - and what role does law play in its theories and practices? To answer these questions, we will turn to how economic theories and legal ideas emerge in some key modern issues in development practice, including security, the rule of law, and social and environmental sustainability.
The course will cover
- Development in practice, and its legal dimensions
- Current controversies in development
The course will be seminar-based. Students will be given listed reading or research tasks. They will be expected to discuss these in class. Course presentations will also be assigned
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Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- At the conclusion of this course you should have some understanding of the way economic and social theory is translated into policy and then into implementing legal institutions, along with the range of political and social choices embedded in these processes. As a result, the course will entail a mix of theoretical and practical reading from a range of disciplines, including economics, political science, anthropology, and law. No background in economic theory or development studies is required.
- In this course students will learn how to engage with complex areas of law and how to analyse complex arguments on the topic of the course.
- Critical Analytical skills; Comprehension - Prioritization of points in argumentation; Writing skills, in particular summarizing information; articulation of opinion as well as justification of that opinion
- An ability to engage in contemporary debates involving the subject-matter of the course. An ability to formulate opinions on complex materials as well as articulate their point of view.
- The course will foster reflection on the moral and political implications of development, including through a group-based role-play that entails sustained teamwork.
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Reading List
Amsden AH, The Rise of 'The Rest': Challenges to the West from Late-Industrializing Economies (Oxford University Press, USA 2003)
Benton L, Law and Colonial Cultures: Legal Regimes in World History, 1400-1900 (Cambridge University Press 2002)
Call CT (ed), Constructing Justice and Security after War (United States Institute of Peace 2007)
Dezalay Y and Garth B, The Internationalization of Palace Wars: Lawyers, Economists, and the Contest to Transform Latin American States (University of Chicago Press 2002)
Dobson WJ, The Dictator's Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracy (Reprint edition, Anchor 2013)
Hirschman AO, Development Projects Observed (Brookings Institution Press 2014)
Kleinfeld R, Advancing the Rule of Law Abroad: Next Generation Reform (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 2012)
Mamdani M, Citizen and Subject: Contemporary Africa and the Legacy of Late Colonialism (Princeton University Press 2018)
Sen A, Development as Freedom (Reprint edition, Anchor 2000)
Soto HD, The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else (Reprint, Basic Books 2003)
Trubek DM and Santos A (eds), The New Law and Economic Development: A Critical Appraisal (Cambridge University Press 2006)
World Bank, World Development Reports (World Bank various)
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Subject-specific skills: In this course students will learn how to engage with complex areas of law and how to analyse complex arguments on the topic of the course.
General skills: Enquiry, in particular an understanding of the evolving nature of the topic and the need for continual learning; Personal Development, especially some reflection on the moral and political implications of development; Engagement with the world, especially through engaging in contemporary debates involving the subject-matter of the course; Research, especially an ability to formulate opinions on complex materials as well as articulate their point of view;
Autonomy, particularly subject-specific legal and ethical values, especially as they pertain to the course's subject matter; and Effectiveness, especially through group work;
Communication, particularly through prioritization of points in argumentation, summarizing information, and articulation of opinion as well as justification of that opinion
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| Keywords | Law,development,transnational law,global governance |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Deval Desai
Tel: (0131 6)51 4309
Email: ddesai@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Olivia Hayes
Tel: (0131 6)50 2344
Email: Olivia.Hayes@ed.ac.uk |
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