SOC 429
Sociology of Law
Winter 2026
Topics
- Understand, articulate and critically engage selected socio-legal theories with analytical depth
- Comprehend, variously communicate, and critically engage with diverse concepts of law
- Trace conceptual genealogies of modern state law, colonial law, and Indigenous law
- Frame questions about the history, validity, justice, plurality, power, and limitations of different concepts of law and justice
Readings
- Wacks, Raymond. 2023. Law: A Very Short Introduction. 3rd edition. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. Another is Suggested:
- Pavlich, George, 2011. Law and Society Redefined, Toronto: Oxford University Press
- Pavlich, George ‘Law and Society Redefined’, Chaps 2 and 3
- Wacks, Chapters 4 and 5
- Bourdieu, Pierre. 1987. ‘The Force of Law: Toward a Sociology of the Juridical Field’. The Hastings Law Journal 38: 42, 814-853. Link
- Pavlich, George ‘Law and Society Redefined’, Chap 5
- Sterling, J. S., & Moore, W. E. 1987. ‘Weber’s Analysis of Legal Rationalization: A Critique and Constructive Modification.’ Sociological Forum, 2(1), 67–89
- Spitzer, S. 1983. ‘Marxist Perspectives in the Sociology of Law’. Annual Review of Sociology, 9, 103–124
- Pavlich, George ‘Law and Society Redefined’, Chap 6 -7
- Pavlich, George ‘Law and Society Redefined’, Chap 9
- Gurvitch, G. 1941. ‘The Problem of Social Law.’ Ethics, 52(1), 17–40
- Griffiths, J. 2006. ‘The Idea of Sociology of Law and its Relation to Law and to Sociology’. In M. Freeman (Ed.), Law and Sociology (p. 49-68). Oxford University Press
- Crenshaw, K. W. 2011. ‘From Private Violence to Mass Incarceration: Thinking Intersectionally about Women, Race, and Social Control. UCLA Law Review, 59(6), 1418–
- Collins, P. H. (2015). Intersectionality’s definitional dilemmas. Annual Review of Sociology, 41, 1–20
- Borrows, John. 2005. ‘Indigenous Legal Traditions in Canada’. Washington University Journal of Law & Policy Washington University Journal of Law & Policy 19:167–220
Fall 2024
Readings
- Wacks, Raymond. 2023. Law: A Very Short Introduction. 3rd edition. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press
- Johnson, Harold R. 2019. Peace and Good Order Canadian Edition: The Case for Indigenous Justice in Canada. New York: McClelland & Stewart
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026–2027
- SOC 429 SOCIOLOGY OF LAW · Reading-list link; contents not retrieved ↗
- SOC 429 SOCIOLOGY OF LAW · Reading-list link; contents not retrieved ↗
- SOC 429 SOCIOLOGY OF LAW · Reading-list link; contents not retrieved ↗
- 2021-Winter-SOC-429-LECTURE-B1 ↗2021
- 2022-Winter-SOC-429-LECTURE-B1 ↗2022
- 2023-Winter-SOC-429-LECTURE-B1 ↗2023
- 2024-Winter-SOC-429-LECTURE-B01 ↗2024
- 2024-Fall-SOC-429-LECTURE-A01 ↗2024
- 2026-Winter-SOC-429-LECTURE-B01 ↗2026
- Additional readings are supplied through the course LMS. Partial automated extraction.
- Additional readings are supplied through the course LMS. Partial automated extraction.