The Blackwell Companion to Law and Society

Copyright © 2004 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

The Blackwell Companion to Law and Society

Editor(s): Austin Sarat

Published Online: 17 MAR 2008

Print ISBN: 9780631228967

Online ISBN: 9780470693650

DOI: 10.1002/9780470693650

About this Book

Product Information

About The Product

The Blackwell Companion to Law and Society is an authoritative study of the relationship between law and social interaction. Thirty-two original essays by an international group of expert scholars examine a wide range of critical questions. Authors represent various theoretical, methodological, and political commitments, creating the first truly global overview of the field.


  • Examines the relationship between law and social interactions in thirty-three original essay by international experts in the field.
  • Reflects the world-wide significance of North American law and society scholarship.
  • Addresses classical areas and new themes in law and society research, including: the gap between law on the books and law in action; the complexity of institutional processes; the significance of new media; and the intersections of law and identity.
  • Engages the exciting work now being done in England, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, South Africa, Israel, as well as "Third World" scholarship.

Table of contents

    1. You have free access to this content
      Frontmatter (pages i–xxi)

    1. Chapter 1

      Vitality Amidst Fragmentation: On the Emergence of Postrealist Law and Society Scholarship (pages 1–11)

      Austin Sarat

  3. Part I: Perspectives on the History and Significance of Law and Society Research

    1. Chapter 2

      Law in Social Theory and Social Theory in the Study of Law (pages 15–29)

      Roger Cotterrell

    2. Chapter 3

      Profession, Science, and Culture: An Emergent Canon of Law and Society Research (pages 30–59)

      Carroll Seron and Susan S. Silbey

  4. Part II: The Cultural Life of Law

    1. Chapter 4

      The Work of Rights and the Work Rights Do: A Critical Empirical Approach (pages 63–79)

      Laura Beth Nielsen

    2. Chapter 5

      Consciousness and Ideology (pages 80–94)

      Patricia Ewick

    3. Chapter 6

      Law in Popular Culture (pages 95–112)

      Richard K. Sherwin

    4. Chapter 7

      Comparing Legal Cultures (pages 113–127)

      David Nelken

  5. Part III: Institutions and Actors

    1. Chapter 8

      The Police and Policing (pages 131–145)

      Jeannine Bell

    2. Chapter 9

      Professional Power: Lawyers and the Constitution of Professional Authority (pages 146–169)

      Tanina Rostain

    3. Chapter 10

      Courts and Judges (pages 170–194)

      Lee Epstein and Jack Knight

    4. Chapter 11

      Jurors and Juries (pages 195–211)

      Valerie P. Hans and Neil Vidmar

    5. Chapter 12

      Regulators and Regulatory Processes (pages 212–230)

      Robert A. Kagan

    6. Chapter 13

      The Legal Lives of Private Organizations (pages 231–252)

      Lauren B. Edelman

  6. Part IV: Domains of Policy

    1. Chapter 14

      Legal Regulation of Families in Changing Societies (pages 255–270)

      Susan B. Boyd

    2. Chapter 15

      Culture, “Kulturkampf,” and Beyond: The Antidiscrimination Principle Under the Jurisprudence of Backlash (pages 271–291)

      Francisco Valdes

    3. Chapter 16

      The Government of Risks (pages 292–308)

      Pat O'Malley

    4. Chapter 17

      Thinking About Criminal Justice: Sociolegal Expertise and the Modernization of American Criminal Justice (pages 309–329)

      Jonathan Simon

    5. Chapter 18

      Rights in the Shadow of Class: Poverty, Welfare, and the Law (pages 330–353)

      Frank Munger

    6. Chapter 19

      Immigration (pages 354–368)

      Susan Sterett

    7. Chapter 20

      Commodity Culture, Private Censorship, Branded Environments, and Global Trade Politics: Intellectual Property as a Topic of Law and Society Research (pages 369–391)

      Rosemary J. Coombe

    8. Chapter 21

      Legal Categorizations and Religion: On Politics of Modernity, Practices, Faith, and Power (pages 392–403)

      Gad Barzilai

    9. Chapter 22

      The Role of Social Science in Legal Decisions (pages 410–431)

      Jonathan Yovel and Elizabeth Mertz

  7. Part V: How Does Law Matter?

    1. Chapter 23

      Procedural Justice (pages 435–452)

      Tom R. Tyler

    2. Chapter 24

      A Tale of Two Genres: On the Real and Ideal Links Between Law and Society and Critical Race Theory (pages 453–470)

      Laura E. Gómez

    3. Chapter 24

      The Constitution of Identity: Gender, Feminist Legal Theory, and the Law and Society Movement (pages 471–486)

      Nicola Lacey

    4. Chapter 26

      Sexuality in Law and Society Scholarship (pages 487–505)

      Leslie J. Moran

    5. Chapter 27

      Law and Social Movements (pages 506–522)

      Michael McCann

    6. Chapter 28

      “The Dog that Didn't Bark”: A Sociolegal Tale of Law, Democracy, and Elections (pages 523–541)

      Stuart A. Scheingold

  8. Part VI: Studying Globalization: Past, Present, Future

    1. Chapter 29

      Ethnographies of Law (pages 545–568)

      Eve Darian-Smith

    2. Chapter 30

      Colonial and Postcolonial Law (pages 569–588)

      Sally Engle Merry

    3. Chapter 31

      Human Rights (pages 589–604)

      Lisa Hajjar

    4. Chapter 32

      The Rule of Law and Economic Development in a Global Era (pages 605–623)

      Kathryn Hendley

    5. Chapter 33

      Economic Globalization and the Law in the Twenty-First Century (pages 624–640)

      Francis Snyder

    1. You have free access to this content
      Index (pages 641–666)

SEARCH