Universität Wien

030107 KU An Introduction to Legal Theory (2023S)

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

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. 40 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Tuesday 14.03. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal U16 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, KG1
  • Monday 20.03. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal U16 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, KG1
  • Tuesday 21.03. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal U16 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, KG1
  • Monday 27.03. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal U16 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, KG1
  • Tuesday 28.03. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal U16 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, KG1
  • Monday 17.04. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal U16 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, KG1
  • Tuesday 18.04. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal U16 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, KG1
  • Monday 24.04. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal U16 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, KG1
  • Tuesday 25.04. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal U16 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, KG1
  • Tuesday 02.05. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal U16 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, KG1
  • Monday 08.05. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal U16 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, KG1
  • Tuesday 09.05. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal U16 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, KG1
  • Monday 15.05. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal U16 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, KG1
  • Tuesday 16.05. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal U16 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, KG1
  • Monday 22.05. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal U16 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, KG1
  • Tuesday 23.05. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal U16 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, KG1
  • Monday 05.06. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal U16 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, KG1
  • Tuesday 06.06. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal U16 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, KG1
  • Monday 12.06. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal U16 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, KG1
  • Tuesday 13.06. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal U16 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, KG1
  • Monday 19.06. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal U16 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, KG1
  • Tuesday 20.06. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal U16 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, KG1

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

This class begins with a claim. It says that legal theory--as a genre--is intimately tied to the crisis of legal knowledge that arose when nineteenth "century legal science" came under attack on both sides of the Atlantic. This moment of attack is epitomized by the ascendency of the Freirechtsbewegung in Germany and the Legal Realist revolution in America. To this day, the impact of the latter on the intellectual standing of "legal science" has been devastating.
One school of legal thought attempted to accommodate some of the challenges posed by both movements while also restoring the integrity of legal knowledge. This school is legal positivism. Not by accident, in the narrative underlying this class, positivism is cast in the role of the hero of modern legal theory. It defends the intellectual respectability of legal analysis proper vis-à-vis more open-ended modes of resolving cases with resort to moral reasoning or policy analysis.
Not surprisingly, the focus of modern legal theory has frequently rested on the question whether legal positivism is defensible. For if legal positivism is sound, legal knowledge is possible.
But what if legal positivism is doomed to failure?
The class will study samples of legal theory, thereby drawing, among other things, on American legal realism, Kelsenian and contemporary legal positivism, Ronald Dworkin, Critical Legal Studies and Social Systems' Theory. The class offers a thoroughly transatlantic introduction to legal theory.

Assessment and permitted materials

Classroom participation, written final exam (2 hours)

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Particiipation in class discussions, final exam (1.5 hours)

Examination topics

Reading materials

Reading list

Downloadable resources on moodle

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Mo 13.02.2023 13:47