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ANTH375
DISCURSE AND LEGAL PROCESSES
ANTH375 SP
Next Offered in 9798 SP
This course is concerned with the role of language in law
and legal processes. We begin by examining several
approaches: the ethnography of law as a discursive practice,
sociolinguistic research on trials and disputes, and studies
of law as ideology and representation. Through discourse
analysis we will explore the power dynamics behind conflict
resolution, especially as concerns gender, race, and class,
and we will assess how law provides arenas for the
construction of hegemony and the practice of resistance. A
significant portion of the course will be devoted to using
methods of discourse analysis to illuminate the dynamics of
legal processes in the U.S. Students will analyze data from
court cases and media representations of law.
MAJOR READINGS
R. Hariman, POPULAR TRIALS: RHETORIC, MASS
MEDIA AND THE LAW
J. Conley and W.M. O'Barr, RULES VERSUS RELATIONSHIPS: THE
DISCOURSES OF LAW
M. Foucalt, I, PIERRE RIVIERE HAVING SLAUGHTERED MY MOTHER,
MY SISTER AND MY FATHER
M. Lazarus-Black and S. Hirsch, CONTESTED STATES: LAW,
HEGEMONY AND RESISTANCE
S. Berk-Seligsen, THE BILINGUAL COURTROOM: COURT
INTERPRETERS IN THE JUDICIAL PROCESS
P. Williams, THE ALCHEMY OF RACE AND RIGHTS: DIARY OF A LAW
PROFESSOR
R. Wagner-Pacifici, DISCOURSE AND DESTRUCTION: THE CITY OF
PHILADELPHIA VERSUS MOVE
EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS
One short paper, a midterm
examination and a final research project.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS
Students must have
taken one previous social science course. Permission of
instructor.
Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting
or communicate directly with the instructor prior to the
first class, they will be dropped from the class list.
NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form
to the Registrar's Office.
COURSE FORMAT: Discussion Fieldwork Seminar Data Analysis
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Level: UG Credit: 1.00
Gen Ed Area & Dept: SBS ANTH
Prerequisites:
None
Last Updated on MAR-10-1997
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Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459