Universität Wien

030077 KU Vienna at the Beginning of the 20th Century: Hans Kelsen and the Vienna School of Legal Theory (2022S)

4.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 3 - Rechtswissenschaften
Continuous assessment of course work

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 30 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

UNIT I: 03-10-2022: Vienna around 1900; Allocation of the oral presentation topics;

UNIT II: 03-17-2022: Excursion to the „Hans Kelsen Institut“ (HKI), Gymnasiumstraße 79, 1190 Wien;

UNIT III: 03-24-2022: The philosophical foundations of Kelsen’s work: Hume, Kant, Neokantianism and (Legal)Positivism;
presentation 1: Hume‘s analysis of causality
presentation 2: Kant's epistemology
presentation 3: Neo-Kantianism: Hermann Cohen
presentation 4: (Legal) Positivism

UNIT IV: 03-31-2022: Kelsen’s Pure Theory of Law (I);
[Hans Kelsen, Pure Theory of Law (1st edition)]
presentation 5: chap.1 and 2
presentation 6: chap. 3
presentation 7: chap.4
presentation 8: chap.5

UNIT V: 04-07-2022: Kelsen’s Pure Theory of Law (II) Introduction to the 2nd edition;
[Hans Kelsen, Pure Theory of Law (1st edition)]
presentation 9: chap.6 +7
presentation 10: chap.8
presentation 11: chap. 9

UNIT VI: 04-28-2022: What is justice? (lecture);
presentation 12: Absolutism and relativism in philosophy and politics, in: Hans Kelsen, What is justice? (1957) 198 -208.

UNIT VII: 05- 05-2022: Kelsens’s theory of democracy;
[General Theory of Law and State (1945); Hans Kelsen, Foundations of democracy (1955); ]
presentation 13: General thory of law and state chap.III., Separation of powers
presentation 14: General thory of law and state chap. IV., Forms of Government
presentation 15: Foundations of democracy chap. I (2 people - team work)
presentation 16: Foundations of democracy chap.II (2 people- team work)
presentation 17: Foundations of democracy III (2 people - team work)

UNIT VIII: 05-12-2022: Kelsen and Marxism; Kelsen‘s relationship towards Austromarxism;
[Hans Kelsen, The Political Theory of Bolshevism (1948); Communist theory of law (1955)]]
presentation 18: The Political Theory of Bolshevism I
presentation 19: The Political Theory of Bolshevism II
presentation 20: The Political Theory of Bolshevism III
presentation 21: Otto Bauer, Austomarxism
presentation 22: Paulson/Stolleis, Max Adler

UNIT IX: 05-19-2022: Kelsens‘s controversies (selection);
presentation 23: Hans Kelsen – Carl Schmitt I
presentation 24: Hans Kelsen – Carl schmitt II
presentation 25: Hans Kelsen – Alf Ross
presentation 26: Hans Kelsen – Erich Voegelin

UNIT X: 06-02-2022: Legal positivism around the world;
presentation 26: Hans Kelsen and H.L.A. Hart (Hart, Kelsen visited)
presentation 27: Paulson, Continental and British Normativism
presentation 28: Carlos Cossio
presentation 29: Hans Kelsen's "Spätlehre"

UNIT XI: 06-09-2022: Discussion about Hans Kelsen and his work;

UNIT XII: 06-23-2022: TEST

  • Thursday 10.03. 11:30 - 13:00 Seminarraum SEM31 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, 3.OG
  • Thursday 17.03. 11:30 - 13:00 Seminarraum SEM31 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, 3.OG
  • Thursday 24.03. 11:30 - 13:00 Seminarraum SEM31 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, 3.OG
  • Thursday 31.03. 11:30 - 13:00 Seminarraum SEM31 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, 3.OG
  • Thursday 07.04. 11:30 - 13:00 Seminarraum SEM31 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, 3.OG
  • Thursday 28.04. 11:30 - 13:00 Seminarraum SEM31 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, 3.OG
  • Thursday 05.05. 11:30 - 13:00 Seminarraum SEM31 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, 3.OG
  • Thursday 12.05. 11:30 - 13:00 Seminarraum SEM31 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, 3.OG
  • Thursday 19.05. 11:30 - 13:00 Seminarraum SEM31 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, 3.OG
  • Thursday 02.06. 11:30 - 13:00 Seminarraum SEM31 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, 3.OG
  • Thursday 09.06. 11:30 - 13:00 Seminarraum SEM31 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, 3.OG
  • Thursday 23.06. 11:30 - 13:00 Seminarraum SEM31 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, 3.OG

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of jurists and legal philosophers gathered around Hans Kelsen, the later father of the Austrian Constitution, and together with him created what is today known as the Pure Theory of Law.
In this course we will - figuratively speaking - travel back in time to the Vienna of the fin de siècle - the Vienna of Freud, Klimt, Schnitzler, Mahler - and we will take a closer look at the emergence of Kelsen’s Pure Theory of Law. We will talk about the historical events and the philosophical movements such as legal positivism and neo-Kantianism that influenced Kelsen and his circle. Moreover we will take a closer look on Kelsen's main works such as The Pure theory of Law (1st edition) or "What is justice?", so that by the end of this course you will be having a good idea of Kelsen’s Pure Theory and it’s main aspects.

Assessment and permitted materials

The participants do a short presentation (they will have to read an article at home and do a short presentation of 5-10 minutes in class) and take a short written multiple-choice test at the end of the semester.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

50% of the oral presentation is included in the overall grade; another 25% is accounted for active participation in class and 25% is the final test.
Attendance is compulsory in the course.

Examination topics

distributed via moodle

Reading list

distributed via moodle

Association in the course directory

Last modified: We 30.03.2022 11:27