Contemporary History of Law

Please note that during the week of 2 March to 6 March, the lecture will exceptionally take place on Monday, 2 March, from 10:15 to 12:00

(See also Vorlesungsverzeichnis )

Format of the course

The lecture will take place on site and streaming (zoom) will be offered.

Please note that there will not be any podcasts this semester.

Content of the course

This semester’s course examines how global legal orders emerged and transformed between the 18th and the 20th century. It focuses on the historical processes that shaped international and imperial legal structures, including the creation of borders, the governance of territories, cultural interactions, and the development of new legal institutions. Particular attention will be given to moments in which law intersected with political authority, social change, and evolving ideas of responsibility, sovereignty, and justice.

The course adopts a thematic approach that starts from selected concepts drawn from everyday language, using them as entry points to explore broader legal historical developments. Reading of primary sources, together with a critical study of legal thought and jurists in their historical context, will form an integral part of the approach.

Aim of the course and learning outcomes

After the successful completion of this course students can understand the social and cultural mechanisms of law in their historical contexts; to comprehend and critically explain the ways how law structures state systems and operates within international systems and therefore; to understand, discuss and explain how some concepts become «legal», and to analyse their fundamental influence on the social order from a historical perspective.

Lecture material

Sources and reading materials will be uploaded together with the slides. Please find slides, sources and reading materials on:  Olat

Guided Museum Visit: 25 February : Benin Dues visit (PDF, 91 KB)