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CSUDH Habermas UWP

California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Created: June 6, 2001
Latest update: November 6, 2001
jeannecurran@habermas.org

Sociology of Law Readings
Week of October 29, 2001: Week 10

• Online Readings:

  • George Herbert Mead: The Importance of Play to the Emergent Self See discussion topic for conceptual linking to Sociology of Law. Added discussion material on November 6, 2001.

  • My First Job: "I always went to lunch by myself . . . " Journal entry by Cynthia Taylor. Note the subtleties of the discrimination. This shows why it's hard to prove, hard to break through the complicity of denial.

• Theoretical Concepts You Should Know:

  1. the Other The "Other" is the one who is not included in the majority, the one who disagrees with the dominant discourse, the one who has no power to make and to enforce the majority decisions. This concept comes into play as we consider the unstated assumptions that underly the law.

  2. the complicity of denial: When we refuse to look or listen in good faith, we salve our consciences and suppress our moral judgment and deny that we have done anything. After all, not listening in good faith is very personal and next to impossible to measure and to prove. Through that denial we become complicit with those engaged in oppression and domination.
     

• Some Suggested Measures of Learning:

  Comment on one of the following topics, or do something of your own choosing.

  1. How could we conceptually link George Herbert Mead's emphasis on the importance of play to the practice of law?

     Consider that the law is enacted and enforced by those who have the power in the system to make decisions. Rember that consensus doesn't mean that everyone agrees - it means majority rule. What does this say about the laws and their enforcement?

  2. What does Mead's concept of reflexivity have to do with the law pertaining to the September 11 crisis?

     Consider who the Other is in this case, and how that Other is represented in international law. Is there an international law? Consider that a nation must consent to the jurisdiction of the international court in order for that court to hear a case.