Rhetoric of Legal Theory

In this course we trace several historical shifts in our modern legal imaginary that have reconfigured the ethical dimensions and political horizons of the moderns. We consider such shifts as the ones from natural law to positive law to sociological law. We will be primarily reading legal theoretical texts, but our objective is not only to grasp the legal doctrinal ruptures, but also to develop political-ethical appreciation for the changing modern legal landscapes and their consequences. What place has law assumed in modern life, and how have the ruptures in law transform notions of authority, the world, nature, society and politics? 

Most of the readings for the course will be posted online. In addition, you can purchase the following books from the bookstore.
Thomas Aquinas, On Law, Morality, and the Politics
Hugo Grotius, The Free Sea
H.L.A Hart, The Concept of the Law
Bruno Latour, The Making of the Law: An Ethnography of the Conseil d’Etat