Course Description
The Course is designed to help students imagine writing projects of their own which put critical theory from the humanities and from legal studies "to work" in understanding some concrete dimension of the law. Readings will be a selected range of "classics" in literary, social and legal theory, paired with remarkable examples of legal-academic writing strongly engaged with them. The course discussions will aim for mastery of the former and a nuanced understanding of the interventions and methods exemplified by the latter. The course thus seeks enable students to identify, analyse and research issues in any area of law. It is a bridge course designed to equip students with the basic skills and information necessary to navigate the law-related courses and activities during their law school life and later.
Course Outcomes
At the end of this course, students should:
- Demonstrate
understanding of the debates around the nature of law;
- Distinguish
between the major kinds of law, legal systems and institutions;
- Explain the
structure of the legal institutions and the hierarchy of courts in Ghana
- Acquire the
ability to identify legal issues and principles underlying any given factual situation,
and to undertake and present research on such issues;
- Discuss the
various sources of law in Ghana and be able to synthesise such sources and use
them to formulate arguments in their research;
- Analyse
legal research sources and tools and basic techniques of legal and logical reasoning;
and
- Write
clearly and succinctly, tailoring their writing to their audience and their
purpose.