Language, Law, and Social Justice

4 credits

Legal systems are central in (re)organizing social institutions, international arrangements, (in)equalities, and are an arena where linguistic practices predominate and define outcomes. With an anthropological approach to language, examine languages of the law, legal conceptions of language, and most importantly, the nature and structure of talk in a range of legal institutions and activities. Students will engage in direct anthropological fieldwork in local contexts involving the legal bureaucracy. Prerequisites: upper-division standing.