Module LAW2201: LAW GENDER AND SOCIETY

Department: Law

LAW2201: LAW GENDER AND SOCIETY

Prerequisites

• Introduction to English Law and Legal Method (LAW 1121) [OR Legal Skills (LAW 1107) AND Legal System of England and Wales (LAW 1117); OR Legal Skills (LAW 1041)]; (at the discretion of the Chair of the Board of Studies or delegate, a suitable module from another Department may be substituted for the Law pre-requisite(s)).

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To provide students with a critical introduction to the relationships between law, gender and society.
• In addition, to encourage students to evaluate established legal concepts, principles and regulations in the light of the main approaches to, and theories of, law and gender.
• To develop students' critical awareness of the law in its broader social and political context.

Content

• This module examines the law from a gender perspective.
• It considers how the law impacts differently on women and men and how the law is often based on stereotyped assumptions about women and men.
• The main theories regarding gender and law are considered, before examining a number of areas of interesting and controversial areas of law, such as anti-discrimination law, human rights law, the nature of judging and the legal profession and family law.

Learning Outcomes

• Students should be able to:
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the main theoretical approaches to analyses of law, gender and society.
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of selected areas of substantive law.

• Students should be able to:
• Evaluate critically the relevance of gender issues in the determination of law and legal policy.
• Demonstrate analytical and critical skills in regard to the social implications of existing and proposed laws and legal policies.
• Demonstrate an awareness and understanding of the significance of law in its social context.
• Evaluate selected areas of substantive law and legal policy in the light of different approaches to the study of law, gender and society, including the ability to offer personal and justifiable opinions on the effectiveness of specific laws, the desirability of reform and to recognise and understand competing arguments for reform.

• Students should be able to:
• Demonstrate developed research and writing skills, including the ability to work independently and to take responsibility for their own learning.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The modes of teaching, learning and assessment have been chosen in order to facilitate the achievement of the learning outcomes of the module.
• Lectures will concentrate on developing students' knowledge of the subject area and introducing students to the relevant critical, analytical and evaluative skills.
• Seminars will be used to develop students' critical and analytical skills and their understanding of the subject area.
• The modes of assessment will encourage independent learning and research skills and will examine students' ability to meet the learning outcomes of the module.
• The examination tests the ability to focus on relevant legal issues and organise knowledge and argument appropriate to questions raised. The examination questions will provide the means for students to demonstrate the acquisition of subject knowledge and the development of their problem-solving skills.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One 1,500 word essay.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University