Law and Society: An Introduction / Edition 1

by Steven E. Barkan

Overview

This multidisciplinary text draws on the work of anthropologists, historians, law professors, political scientists, psychologists, and sociologists to outline how law is an essential social institution that shapes and is shaped by society. This second edition of Law and Society incorporates the latest research, with dozens of new references, along with many up-to-date examples gleaned from newsworthy events. Two new pedagogical features in each chapter will help students absorb information: learning objectives that precede each chapter’s discussion, and "Thinking about Law and Society" questions that end each chapter and encourage students to think more deeply about specific issues.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780131946606
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	02/21/2008
Series:	MySearchLab Series 15% off Series
Edition description:	Older Edition
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	6.75(w) x 9.75(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Steven E. Barkan is Professor of sociology at the University of Maine, where he has taught since 1979. His teaching and research interests include criminology, sociology of law, and social movements. He is the 2008-2009 president of the Society for the Study of Social Problems and had previously served as a member of the SSSP Board of Directors, as chair of its Law and Society Division and Editorial and Publications Committee, and as an advisory editor of its journal,Social Problems. He has served on the student paper award committees of the Crime, Law, and Deviance and Sociology of Law sections of the American Sociological Association. Professor Barkan has written many journal articles dealing with topics such as racial prejudice and death penalty attitudes, views on police brutality, political trials, and feminist activism. These articles have appeared in the American Sociological Review, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Journal of Crime and Justice, Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Justice Quarterly, Social Forces, Social Problems, Sociological Forum, Sociological Inquiry, and other journals. For Prentice Hall, he is the author of Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 4/e and of Law and Society: An Introduction (both coming out in early 2008).

Professor Barkan welcomes comments from students and faculty about these books. They may email him at [e-mail] or send regular mail to: Department of Sociology, 5728 Fernald Hall, University of Maine, Orono, Maine 04469-5728.

Table of Contents

Preface     vii
The Social Nature and Significance of Law     1
The Significance of Law for Society and for Ourselves     3
The Social Functions of Law     4
The Dysfunctions of Law     6
The Study of Law and Society     7
Traditional and Social Science Views of Law     7
Assumptions in the Study of Law and Society     9
What Does Law and Society Study?     10
Law and Justice     12
The Case of the Speluncean Explorers     14
Law and Logic in Tumultuous Times     17
The Plan of the Book     18
Summary     19
Key Terms     20
Understanding Law and Society     21
What Is Law?     21
Selected Definitions of Law     23
Definitions of Law and the Existence of Law     27
Explanations of Law     30
Early Approaches     30
Contemporary Perspectives     42
Summary     51
Key Terms     54
Families and Types of Law     55
Families of Law     55
Common Law     56
Civil Law     60
Theocratic Law     64
Socialist Law     68
Traditional Law     70
Types of Law in the United States     71
Criminal Law     71
Civil Law     75
Executive Orders     77
Administrative Law     78
Other Distinctions     80
Special Topics     82
Military Law and Military Justice     82
Native American Law     84
International Law     85
Summary     88
Key Terms     91
Law and Dispute Processing     92
The Disputing Process     93
Stages in the Disputing Process     94
Methods of Dispute Processing     95
Explaining Dispute Processing Decisions     104
Societal Factors     104
Individual Factors     110
Dispute Processing in the United States     112
Dispute Processing and Litigiousness: Then and Now     113
Legal Consciousness and Going (or Not Going) to Court     117
The Litigation Crisis Controversy     123
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)     128
Summary     131
Key Terms     133
Law and Social Control     134
Law, Deterrence, and Incapacitation     136
Deterrence: Conceptual Considerations     137
Research on Deterrence     142
The Issue of Incapacitation     146
Law, Morality, and Consensual Crime     149
Philosophical Considerations     150
Social Science Considerations     154
Repealing Consensual Crime Laws?     156
Special Topics in Law and Social Control     158
The Death Penalty Controversy     158
White-Collar Crime     162
Summary     164
Key Terms     167
Law and Social Change     168
The Impact of Social Change on Law: Law as Dependent Variable     170
Social Change and Fundamental Legal Change     170
Social Change and Specific Legal Developments     178
The Impact of Law on Social Change: Law as Independent Variable     190
Aspects of the Law to Social Change Relationship     191
The Limits of Law as a Social Change Vehicle     193
Problems in Assessing Legal Impact     195
Conditions That Maximize the Potential Impact of Legal Change     197
Law and Social Movements     199
Use of Law by Social Movements     199
Use of Law Against Social Movements     204
Summary     206
Key Terms     208
Law and Inequality     209
Law and Inequality in the American Past     210
Social Class     210
Race and Ethnicity     214
Gender     218
Contemporary Evidence     221
Social Class     221
Race and Ethnicity     226
Gender     231
Summary     234
Key Terms     236
The Legal Profession     237
Images and Perceptions of Lawyers     238
Reasons for the Negative Image     238
The Positive Image: Lawyer as Hero     240
History of the Legal Profession     241
Early Origins of Lawyers     241
Origin and Development of the American Legal Profession     242
The U.S. Legal Profession Today     245
Growth and Demographics of the Legal Profession     245
The Stratification and Social Organization of the Bar     247
Cause Lawyering     251
Women in the Law     253
Legal Ethics and Corruption     255
Satisfaction with Legal Careers     257
Law School and Legal Education      258
The Growth of the American Law School     258
Critique and Defense of Legal Education Today     261
Summary     263
Key Terms     266
Courts and Juries     267
Criminal Courts in the United States     267
Understanding the Criminal Court     268
Normal Crimes and the Courtroom Workgroup     270
Plea Bargaining: Evil, Necessary Evil, or Not Evil?     273
The Jury in Democratic Society     276
History of the Jury     277
How Well Does the Jury Perform?     280
The Issue of Jury Nullification     283
Summary     285
Key Terms     288
References     289
Glossary     317
Index     323

Editorial Reviews

'Good coverage of theory, authoritative, covers many major issues.'
Kenneth Mentor, University of North Carolina at Pembroke

'It is comprehensive and well written. It is for students serious about learning the background of the law.'
Becky da Cruz, Armstrong Atlantic University

'This text makes the field relevant to students.'
Robert Koulish, Philadelphia University

From the Publisher