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Professor John Sutton

3314 Social Science & Media Studies


Spring 2011
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SOCIOLOGY 173: SOCIOLOGY OF LAW
SYLLABUS
This course will explore the relationship between law and society in terms of three major issues.
First, we will ask questions about legal change: How do legal systems differ from one another? What
accounts for those differences? How does law change over time? Second, we will attempt to
understand the impact of law on society by studying civil rights law. The third issue is the American
legal profession: How was the profession established? How does it operate? What do lawyers do?
Who would want to live like this?
Requirements: Formal requirements for the course include a midterm and final examination. The
midterm counts 40% toward your course grade and the final counts 60%. The informal requirement
is that you show up for class alert, prepared, and ready to answer questions on the readings for the
day.
Readings: All reading assignments are required. Readings come from two sources:
John R. Sutton (2001) Law/Society: Origins, Interactions, and Change. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine
Forge. Available at the UCen Bookstore.
All other readings are available online at Ereserves: http://eres.library.ucsb.edu/.

TOPICS AND READINGS
I. INTRODUCTION (March 29)
Law/Society, ch. 1

II. EFFECTS OF SOCIAL CHANGE ON LEGAL SYSTEMS
A. Evolutionary Approaches (March 31-April 5
Emile Durkheim, "Forms of Social Solidarity" and "The Division of Labour and
Social Differentiation"
Law/Society, ch. 2
Case: Darwin v. God
B. Law and the Economy (April 7-12)
Karl Marx, Capital, ch. 10: "The Working-Day"
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Law/Society, ch. 3
Case: The Carriers Case
C. Law and the State (April 14-19)
Max Weber, Economy and Society, "Categories of Legal Thought", "General Conditions
of Legal Formalism", "Formal Qualities of Modern Law"
Law/Society, ch. 4

** Take-home midterm examination due Thursday April 28 **

III. EFFECTS OF LAW ON SOCIETY (April 29-May 27)
A. Introduction (April 26)
Law/Society, ch. 5
Roscoe Pound, "Limits of Effective Legal Action"
Case: The Dogfight Case
B. The Right to Vote (April 28-May 3)
Law/Society, ch. 6, pp. 81-86
Peyton McCrary, Jerome A. Gray, Edward Still, and Huey L. Perry, "Alabama"
Case: Garza and Cano
B. Desegregating Public Schools (May 5-10)
Law/Society, ch. 6, pp. 86-95
Joe Feagin, "School Desegregation: A Political-Economic Perspective"
Case: Parents Involved
C. Equal Employment Opportunity (May 12-19)
Law/Society, ch. 7
David Streitfield, Its Berkeley vs. Bentonville as Lawyers Take On Wal-Mart
John David Skrentny, Affirmative Action: Some Advice for the Pundits
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Case: Men, Women, and Groceries


IV. THE LEGAL PROFESSION (May 24-31)
John Hagan et al., "Cultural Capital, Gender, and the Structural Transformation of
Legal Practice"
Jo Dixon and Carroll Seron, Stratification in the Legal Profession: Sex, Sector, and
Salary
James D. Gordon III, "How Not to Succeed in Law School"
Law/Society, ch. 8 & 9

** Take-home final examinations due in instructors office **
** Tuesday June 7 by 4:00 p.m. **
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Sociology 173: Tentative Schedule

March 29 I. Introduction
March 31 II.A. Evolutionary approaches: Maine
April 5 II.A. Evolutionary approaches: Durkheim
April 7 II.B. Law and the Economy: Marx
April 12 II.B. Marx (cont.)
April 14 II.C. Law and the State: Weber
April 19 II.C. Weber (cont.)
April 22 Midterm review
April 26 III. Effects of Law on Society: Introduction
April 28 III.A. The Right to Vote Video: LBJ
** MIDTERM EXAMINATION DUE **
May 3 III.A. The Right to Vote (continued)
May 5 III.B.
School DesegregationVideo: A Class Apart
May 10 III.B. School Desegregation (continued)
May 12 III.C. Equal Employment OpportunityVideo: 60 Minutes:
The Look
May 17 III.C. Equal Employment Opportunity (continued)
May 19 III.C. Equal Employment Opportunity (continued)
May 24 IV.A. Development of the American Legal Profession
May 26 IV.B. Career Patterns and Inequality in the Legal Profession
May 31 IV.B. Career Patterns and Inequality in the Legal Profession
(cont.)
June 2 Review & evaluations

June 7 ** FINAL EXAMINATION DUE **

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