Law and Society in Britain 1500-1800

3 credit hours · Undergraduate

The law was an essential constituent of pre-modern English society, shaping everything from inter personal relations to the nature of government. Students examine the institutions and culture of law from the end of the medieval period to the dawn of the modern age, excluding crime and criminal law. Topics include law courts and litigation, church law and the policing of morality, community justice, law and literature, defamation, censorship and state formation.