030078 SE Mapping Legal Systems (2023S)

"May we not take a temporary flight above the earth, look down upon the globe, and there watch the Panorama of the World's Legal Systems unroll before us, from the earliest past down to the present day?" With these words John H. Wigmore's work "A Panorama of the World's Legal Systems" begins. In this richly illustrated work, published in 1928, Wigmore illuminates the past and present of a wide variety of legal cultures. In the seminar we will critically examine this attempt to map the law. On what sources does Wigmore base his findings? What do the images he uses tell us? What assessments does he make? To what extent do these assessments mirror his perspectives as a U.S. scholar looking out on a world shaped by imperialism and colonialism?

The seminar will be based on his work "A Panorama of the World's Legal Systems." In order to gain a critical perspective, we will not only look at Wigmore's figure and the context of his work but also at postcolonial theory, which will provide us with a framework for analysis. On this basis, all participants will be asked to critically engage with one chapter of Wigmore's work.

As a guest lecturer, Prof. Dr. Joachim Rückert (Frankfurt am Main) is invited.