Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Convenor and lecturer
Sarah Sorial
Contact via 9850 4069
6 First Walk, Rm 440
Wednesday 2-4pm
Lecturer
Denise Meyerson
Lise Barry
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
(18cp at 100 level or above) including LAW115 and (admission to LLB or BAppFinLLB or BALLB or BA-MediaLLB or BA-PsychLLB or BBALLB or BComLLB or BCom-ProfAccgLLB or BEnvLLB or BITLLB or BIntStudLLB or BMediaLLB or BPsych(Hons)LLB or BScLLB or BSecStudLLB or BSocScLLB)
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit is a philosophically-based introduction to law and legal thought. It has four main objectives. It aims to introduce students to the nature of the Australian legal system; to equip them to think in a theoretical and critical way about the nature of law and legal reasoning; to convey an understanding of some key legal concepts; and to assist them to draw on and apply these reflections in the context of some contemporary legal issues.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests.
Word limits will be strictly applied and work above the word limit will not be marked.
All assessments in the unit are to be submitted electronically. Plagiarism detection software is used in this unit.
Moderation
The convenor moderates all assessments. All Fail research essays are double marked.
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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Assignment 1 | 40% | No | Friday 13 September, 11.59 pm |
Take Home Exam | 40% | No | 08/11/2019 |
Class Participation | 20% | No | Weeks 6 & 11 |
Due: Friday 13 September, 11.59 pm
Weighting: 40%
This assignment will require comprehension and critical analysis of some key readings on the nature of law. The word limit for this assignment is 1,500 words (footnotes and the bibliography are not included in the word limit). Students should adhere to AGLC3. Further details will be released once the course starts.
Due: 08/11/2019
Weighting: 40%
The take-home exam will test critical reasoning skills and comprehension of the set texts. Students will be required to answer four questions. each 500 words in length. Questions will be released on iLearn on 4 November (beginning of week 13). Students will have 5 days to complete the assessment.
The word limit for this assignment is 2000 words. Footnotes and the bibliography are not included in the word limit.Students should abide by AGLC3.
Due: Weeks 6 & 11
Weighting: 20%
Class participation for this subject will be assessed by TWO multiple choice quizzes, to be taken in your tutorial during weeks 6 & 11. Each quiz will have 10 questions, each worth one mark. There is a total of 10 marks per quiz. You will need to bring a device to class, such as a laptop or smart phone, so you can connect to the iLearn site. The quiz is designed to test your comprehension of the texts set for study and your engagement with the course materials. If you attend class each week, do the readings and listen to the lectures, the quizzes will be very straightforward.
Technology used
This unit will use i-learn and ECHO lectures. Students will be required to use a computer to interact with online research databases and web-based research tools.
Classes
For current updates, lecture times and classrooms please consult the MQ Timetables website: http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au
There are two pre-recorded one-hour lectures per week (available through ECHO lectures).
Internal students must attend at least 10 tutorials and submit all assignments.
External students must attend both days of the on-campus-session and submit all assignments.
Required and recommended resources
Prescribed Texts
Denise Meyerson, Jurisprudence (Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 2011).
Other essential reading
Details available on the i-learn site for LAW214.
Supplementary Readings
There is no single text which covers all of the material dealt with in this unit, but the following books will be useful to you if you would like to read more about the topics. They will also help in the writing of your assignments for this unit. All of these books are on reserve in the Macquarie University Library.
S Berns, Concise Jurisprudence (Federation Press, Sydney, 1993).
B Bix, Jurisprudence: Theory and Context (5thedn, Sweet and Maxwell, London, 2009).
S Bottomley and S Bronitt, Law in Context (3rd edn, Federation Press, Sydney, 2006).
R Cotterrell, The Politics of Jurisprudence (University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1989).
H Davies and D Holdcroft, Jurisprudence: Texts and Commentary (Butterworths, London, 1991).
M Davies, Asking the Law Question (3rd edn, Law Book Company, Sydney, 2008).
R Dworkin, Taking Rights Seriously (Duckworths, London, 1977).
R Dworkin, Law's Empire (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1986).
L Fuller, The Morality of Law (Revised edn, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1969).
S Guest, Ronald Dworkin (2nd edn, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 1997).
J W Harris, Legal Philosophies (2nd edn, Butterworths, London, 1997).
H L A Hart, The Concept of Law (2nd ed, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1994).
J M Kelly, A Short History of Western Legal Theory (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1992).
D Lloyd, Lloyd's Introduction to Jurisprudence (8th edn, Sweet and Maxwell, London, 2008).
H McCoubrey and N D White, Textbook on Jurisprudence (2nd edn, Blackstone Press Ltd, London, 1996).
J G Murphy and J L Coleman, The Philosophy of Law (Revised edn, Westview Press, Boulder, San Francisco, and London, 1990).
D Patterson, A Companion to Philosophy of Law and Legal Theory (Blackwell, Oxford, 1996).
J G Riddall, Jurisprudence (2nd edn, Butterworths, London, 1999).
F Schauer, Thinking Like a Lawyer (Cambridge, Mass, Harvard University Press, 2009).
R Wacks, Understanding Jurisprudence (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2005).
Week |
Lecture |
Tutorial |
Assessment |
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1 |
Introduction to Jurisprudence |
Introduction to Jurisprudence |
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2 |
Law and force: Austin vs Hart |
Law and force: Austin vs Hart |
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3 |
Contemporary Positivism |
Contemporary Positivism |
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4 |
Natural Law Theory |
Natural Law Theory |
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5 |
Adjudication I: Formalism vs Purposivism |
Adjudication I: Formalism vs Purposivism |
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6 |
Adjudication II: Hart vs Dworkin |
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In class quiz 1 |
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7 |
Realism and Critical Perspectives |
Realism and Critical Perspectives |
Essay due Friday 13 September |
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Semester Break |
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8 |
Difference |
Difference | |||
9 |
Rights |
Rights |
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10 |
Freedom |
Freedom |
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11 |
Inequality |
Inequality |
In class quiz 2 |
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12 |
Civil disobedience |
Civil disobedience |
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13 |
None |
Take home exam |
Take home exam: Due Friday 8 November |
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Undergraduate students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct
Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
Word limits will be strictly applied.
Referencing should comply with the Australian Guide to Legal Citation unless otherwise stated.
All written assessments require submission through Turnitin.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
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This graduate capability is supported by:
Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.
This graduate capability is supported by:
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This graduate capability is supported by:
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This graduate capability is supported by:
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This graduate capability is supported by:
As local citizens our graduates will be aware of indigenous perspectives and of the nation's historical context. They will be engaged with the challenges of contemporary society and with knowledge and ideas. We want our graduates to have respect for diversity, to be open-minded, sensitive to others and inclusive, and to be open to other cultures and perspectives: they should have a level of cultural literacy. Our graduates should be aware of disadvantage and social justice, and be willing to participate to help create a wiser and better society.
This graduate capability is supported by: