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History of Law & the State - LAW00035I

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  • Department: The York Law School
  • Module co-ordinator: Dr. Patrick Gallimore
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: I
  • Academic year of delivery: 2024-25

Module summary

This module will explore the ways in which law is a dynamic and developing field of human activity and how what 'the law' at any given point in time (like now) is in fact the result of change both 'inside' the law as well as the result of interactions with wider social, political, economic and cultural influences. By exploring the development of some key areas of law, we will identify how what we think of a settled and agreed legal principles are in fact the result of accidents and incidents of history. By the end of the module, you will therefore not only have a deeper understanding of where some of our key legal rules, principles and institutions have come from but you will also have developed a wider and more deeply critical perspective of legal rules that will help you to engage critically and insightfully during your future legal studies. The module is delivered through workshops, in which we will explore the history of particular areas areas of law (criminal trials, the development of property concepts, etc) as well as coming to understand the variety of ways that we can look at law from historical perspectives (such as the importance of particular judges, the impact of social and economic change on legal rules, the evolution of legal practices and assumptions, etc). These workshops are intended to be interactive and to involve animated discussion of both law and those wider historical perspectives.

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Semester 2 2024-25

Module aims

The module aims to introduce students to ways of examining and evaluating legal rules, legal concepts and legal change from historical perspectives with a particular focus on how state insitutions, legal systems and concepts of the state grew in England and the United Kingdom more generally. Students will therefore develop their ability to understand and evaluate law in particular ways and enhance their sense of the interdisciplinary nature of legal study. The subject matter is intended to enhance student understanding of law and the idea of state as humanly created as well as further developing their ability to engage in legal and academic discussion by drawing on a range of sources and using them in critical evaluative discussion.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

  • Explain, apply, discuss and critically evaluate well-established legal institutions, and legal concepts, principles and theories from historical perspectives;
  • Discuss and critique the development of state institutions and the idea of the state from historical perspectives;
  • Develop individual opinions and arguments on the causes of change and stability within the law and the structure of the state, supporting them by appropriately critiqued academic legal and historical evidence;
  • Apply and critically evaluate historical responses to academic and practical legal problems;
  • Plan, implement and evaluate research methodologies, and strategies, and locate relevant and reliable legal and historical sources and authorities;
  • Communicate the outputs of the above in a variety of written and oral formats and contexts to specialist and non-specialist audiences;
  • Demonstrate understanding of norms of scholarly and professional legal and historical practice; and
  • Reflect on learning and feedback, and use this in identifying future learning interests and needs

Module content

Students will engage with the ways in which the legal system developed and changed during the period 1000 to 1850 in particular. This will involve examination of the feudal system as a system of governance and trace the ways in which state institutions commonly associated with ideas of 'the constitution' developed as a result of events, processes and ideas. There will be some focus on areas commonly labelled 'criminal', 'public' and 'property' law in legal subjects. They will look at these areas from a variety of historical perspectives (social, political, cultural, etc). They will be encouraged to use these historical perspectives to develop particular insights on the process of legal change and the causes or reasons for legal stability and stasis.

Assessment

Task Length % of module mark
Essay/coursework
Book Report : Source Report		 N/A 40
Essay/coursework
Essay : Historical Analysis		 N/A 60

Special assessment rules

None

Reassessment

Task Length % of module mark
Essay/coursework
Book Report : Source Report		 N/A 40
Essay/coursework
Essay : Historical Analysis		 N/A 60

Module feedback

Students will be encouraged to give and receive feedback on ideas expressed during workshops and seminars and to evaluate each other's selection and use of sources. Tutors will encourage this process as well as offering feedback of their own. Students will have the opportunity during the semester to submit a piece of written work, content in the first half of the semester. This will be returned to students in the second half of the semester. Students will receive a further opportunity to present an outline of their book reading at the end of semester 2 to gain formative feedback on that assessment task. Students will receive feedback on their summative assessment during at the end of the assessment period.

Indicative reading

JH Baker, An Introduction to Legal History (Butterworths, 5th edn, 2019)

John Tosh, The pursuit of history (Pearson, 5th edn, 2010)

Ian Ward, Legal Histories (Hart, 2019)


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University is constantly exploring ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary by the University. Where appropriate, the University will notify and consult with affected students in advance about any changes that are required in line with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.