SOCIAL THEORY AND LAW – 336
DR MYRA WILLIAMSON
S P R I N G S E M EST E R 2 0 1 5
Slideshow #1
GLOSSARY
• During the lectures you will be introduced to new
ideas and vocabulary
• Here are a few words, and their meanings, that you
will hear often
• Translate (if you need to) and consider the meaning
of these words if they are new to you
• We will add to these as we go
• When a word is in bold, that word is also separately
defined on its own slide
DEFINITIONS…
• Definitions sometimes help us to make things clearer, so we
can be sure what we are talking about
• But…
• Don’t memorise these words and their meanings
• It is more important to understand what these terms mean
• We will talk about these terms again throughout the course
LAW
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A difficult word to define…
What do you think it means?
Here’s one:
“The whole system or set of rules made by the government of
a town, state, or country etc.
• “A binding custom or practice of a community…a rule of
conduct or action prescribed or formally recognized as
binding or enforced by a controlling authority”
• Source: Merriam-Webster online dictionary, ‘law’ available at:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/law, last accessed on 8
January 2015
SOCIAL THEORY
• Social theories are theoretical
frameworks which are used to study
and interpret social phenomena
within a particular school of
thought.
SCHOOL OF THOUGHT
• The point of view held by a particular group
• A belief (or a system of beliefs) accepted as authoritative
by a person or group of people
• Usually ends with “…ism” – but not always
• For example, “legal positivism”, “legal realism”
• Some “isms” you might know about:
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Capitalism
Communism
Racism
Feminism
Cronyism (the appointment of friends and associates to positions of
authority, without proper regard to their qualifications)
THEORY
• A set of statements or principles devised to explain a
group of facts or phenomena, especially one that has
been repeatedly tested or is widely accepted and can be
used to make predictions about natural phenomena.
• E.g. “I have a theory that students who attend every
lecture will pass the course”
• We can test a theory and see if it holds true in practice
THEORETICAL
• Of, relating to, or based on theory.
• Restricted to theory; not practical: eg. theoretical physics.
• Given to theorizing; speculative.
• Synonyms (words that mean the same thing): theoretical,
abstract, academic, hypothetical, speculative
SOCIETY
IT’S US – ALL OF US!
Here’s a definition :
1. a. The totality of social relationships among humans.
b. A group of humans broadly distinguished from other groups by
mutual interests, participation in characteristic relationships, shared
institutions, and a common culture.
c. The institutions and culture of a distinct self-perpetuating group.
…
Source: The Free Dictionary http://www.thefreedictionary.com/society
Question: What does Kuwaiti society consist of?
SOCIOLOGY
• Sociology is the science or study of the origin, development,
organization, and functioning of human society.
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•
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Any word that ends with ‘ology’ means ‘the study of…”
Some “ologies” that you might already know:
Psychology
Biology
Zoology
• The study of social problems or social issues.
• Sociology is different from law – but they are both areas of study in
the area known as the ‘humanities’.
• There are many connections between law and sociology – some
scholars believe that law cannot be understood except for when it is
studied within its social context
IDEOLOGY
• The body of ideas reflecting the social needs
and aspirations of an individual, group, class,
or culture.
• A set of strongly held beliefs or values
especially dealing with governance of society
(see Delgado and Stefancic, p164)
JURISPRUDENCE
• The philosophy or science of law.
• Philosophy = the rational investigation of questions
about existence and knowledge and ethics
• Our course is within the area of knowledge called
Jurisprudence (note: ‘jurisprudence’ has several
meanings, but this is the meaning intended here)
JURISPRUDENCE: WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?
• It’s about BIG QUESTIONS such as:
• What is law?
• How do we know when something is ‘a law’?
• Where does law come from?
• Why do most people in society obey the law?
• Punishment?
• For the good of society?
• Because of their own morality?
• What is “good” law?
• Is there something called “bad law”?
• Should we obey laws that are “bad” or “evil”?
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
• There is an excellent glossary
of terms in a book in the
library called “Critical Race
Theory: An Introduction” by
Richard Delgado and Jean
Stefancic
• It is in the library if you want
to see more terms – their
glossary starts on p155
• The following slides are taken
from their glossary (with
some additional material)
• The terms are in alphabetical
order
• The book looks like this
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
• Policy that strives for increased minority
enrollment, activity or membership, often
with the intention of diversifying a certain
environment such as a school or workplace
APARTHEID
• Official separation of the races, for example, this was formerly in
place in South Africa
• An official policy of racial segregation – eg in the US in the 1950s
and 1960s, black people had to sit at the back of the bus, the front
seats were reserved for the white passengers
• How do you say it?
• Pronounce it either “a – part – ate” or “a – part – ite”
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•
•
•
People say it both ways
Emphasis is on ‘part’
We will talk about this more, especially in Critical Race Theory
Apartheid is a useful example in many parts of the course so make
sure you know what this term means
CAPITALISM
• Capitalism is a system in which market forces dictate economic decisions
and most property is privately owned
• Individual gain and increasing individual wealth is the main goal – so,
individualism is the main idea
• What? Well, the selfish interests of each individual is supposed to work
out for the benefit of all society
• The opposite of capitalism is communism – which is when all property and
resources are owned by the entire society, collectively – so, collectivism is
the main idea
• Communism aims for a classless, stateless society where everyone is equal
and all resources are shared evenly
• Most of the world has accepted capitalism as the ideology underlying their
economic systems
• There are still some countries that embrace communism e.g. China, Cuba,
Laos, North Korea, Vietnam,
CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
• Efforts to advance the rights of minority
communities in achieving equal citizenship
• In the US, the phrase ‘Civil Rights Movement’
is closely associated with people like Martin
Luther King and Rosa Parks
• During the 1950s and 1960s, African
Americans launched a campaign to end
segregation and obtain equal rights
CRITICAL LEGAL STUDIES
• A legal movement that challenged liberalism from the
Left.CLS denies that law is neutral, that every case has a single
correct answer, and that rights are of vital importance
• What is ‘liberalism’? A political philosophy that holds that the
purpose of government is to maximise liberty. In the civil
rights area, it is the view that the law should enforce formal
equality of treatment
• What is ‘the Left’: politics is sometimes divided into “the Left”
and “the Right”. Read more here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left–right_politics
• See the next slide…
POLITICAL IDEOLOGY
The Left
• Communists
• Socialists
• Environmentalists
(“Greens”)
• Feminists
• Social-Democrats
• In the US – Democrats
• In the UK – Labour Party
The Right
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Conservatives
Neo-conservatives
Traditionalists
Monarchists
Nationalists
Far-right (neo-Nazis)
CRITICAL RACE THEORY
• A radical legal movement that aims to
transform the relationship between race,
racism and power
DISCRIMINATION
• The practice of treating similarly situated
individuals differently because of race, gender,
sexual orientation, appearance or national
origin
• Question: have you ever experienced
discrimination?
ETHNICITY
• Group characteristics often based on national origin,
ancestry, language or other cultural characteristic
Example:
In the 2013 New Zealand census the 5 most common
ethnicities were found to be:
NZ European, Maori, Chinese, Samoan and Indian.
In total, 213 ethnic groups were found to live in NZ even
though there are only 193 countries.
INDETERMINACY
• The idea that legal reasoning rarely, if ever,
has exactly one right answer and that politics
and social pressures on judges influence
outcomes
MARXISM
• The political, social and economic doctrine of
Karl Marx
• The view that capitalism exploits workers and
promotes inequality
PREJUDICE
• A belief or attitude, usually unfavourable,
about a person or group before the facts are
known – a pre-judgment about something
• Eg. “There is still a prejudice against people of
colour in the United States”
Question: Are you prejudiced against any
group?
RACE
• The notion of a distinct biological type of human being,
usually based on skin colour or other physical characteristics
• Racism = Any program or any practice of discrimination,
segregation, persecution or mistreatment based on
membership in a race or ethnic group
Question: Have you ever seen a job ad that requests a photo?
Have you seen a job ad that requests only people of 1 nationality
should apply? Is that racism?
STATUS QUO
• The current state of things or ‘the way things are’
• E.g. “People in power usually want to stay in power so they
make laws that help preserve or keep the status quo.
CONCLUSION
• These are a few terms that you will come across this semester
• For more, go to the library and find the book “Critical Race
Theory: An Introduction” by Richard Delgado and Jean
Stefancic. There is a glossary at the back.
• Or…
• You can go online and go to Google, then type in “define” and
the word you want to know about
• Try to make sure that you know the meaning of these words
- but don’t memorise the definitions