Jurisprudence

This subject is not offered in 2016.

100 hours.

The Melbourne Law School welcomes applications from students with disabilities. It is University and Law School policy to take all reasonable steps to enable the participation of students with disabilities, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the School's programs.

The inherent academic requirements for the study in the Melbourne Law School are:

1. The ability to attend classes and actively engage in the analysis of complex materials and debate;
2. The ability to read, analyse and comprehend complex written legal materials and complex interdisciplinary materials;
3. The ability to clearly and independently communicate in writing a knowledge and application of legal principles and interdisciplinary materials and critically evaluate these;
4. The ability to clearly and independently communicate orally a knowledge and application of legal principles and interdisciplinary materials and critically evaluate these;
5. The ability to work independently and as a part of a group;
6. The ability to present orally and in writing legal analysis to a professional standard.

Students must possess behavioural and social attributes that enable them to participate in a complex learning environment. Students are required to take responsibility for their own participation and learning. They also contribute to the learning of other students in collaborative learning environments, demonstrating interpersonal skills and an understanding of the needs of other students. Assessment may include the outcomes of tasks completed in collaboration with other students.

Students who feel their disability will prevent them from participating in tasks involving these inherent academic requirements are encouraged to contact the Disability Liaison Unit: www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/.

This is a specialist subject in the field of jurisprudence. The aim of this subject is to investigate, at an advanced level, the resources and repertoires of jurisprudence as 'humanist discipline' and as a form of 'prudence' or practical reasoning. It does so in the context of the formation of life of the 'active global citizen' and of the 'global jurist'.

Throughout the course of the subject, students will develop expert knowledge in, and forms of analysis and evaluation of:

• The good and the just as addressed by jurisprudence;
• Jurisprudence as a guide to the conduct and practice of a lawful life;
• Contemporary international narratives of responsibility, community and well-being produced in Australia and the South; and
• The significance of the office of the jurist and the role of jurisprudence in the formation of the 'active global citizen' and the 'global jurist'.

A student who has successfully completed this subject will:

• Have a mastery of the specialist knowledge of contemporary humanist jurisprudence;
• Have an integrated understanding of the importance of questions of conduct and judgment as they shape contemporary jurisprudence;
• Be able to evaluate, at a complex and abstract level, case-studies of professional conduct and judgment in terms of their relationship to 'active global citizenship' and the role of the jurist;
• Create innovative accounts of jurisprudence that are sensitive to the office of the jurisprudent and jurist; and
• Critically interpret, evaluate, and judge the forms of life proposed through jurisprudence.

Assessment will be by way of a 6,000 word independent research paper that provides an investigation of the values of jurisprudence in the formation of the life of the 'active global citizen'. Specific research topics will be formulated by students, and approved by the coordinator.

Students will be expected to submit papers of a very high quality that demonstrate an advanced and integrated understanding of the topics and issues covered in the subject.

The criteria of assessment will include:

• The choice and development of the research question;
• The quality of research;
• The level of understanding of jurisprudence;
• The synthesis of a range of materials;
• The critical analysis and evaluation of arguments; and
• Innovative engagement with question of 'active global citizenship' and the role of the global jurist.

Specialist printed materials will be made available from Melbourne Law School.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

On completion of the subject, students should have developed and demonstrated expert skills in the following areas:

• The reading, analysis, and synthesis of a diverse range of complex and specialised materials;
• The capacity for critical and independent thought and reflection;
• The capacity to evaluate problems and generate appropriate solutions with creativity and initiative, including through the collection and evaluation of information;
• The capacity to communicate complex ideas, both orally and in writing, to specialist and non-specialist audiences;
• The ability to conduct advanced independent research at a high level of scholarly expertise;
• The capacity for autonomous decision making and expert judgement in the field of jurisprudence;
• Intercultural sensitivity and understanding; and
• Attitudes towards knowledge that include valuing truth, openness to new ideas and an ethic associated with knowledge creation and usage.