Methodologies of Legal Analysis
Objectives
This unit aims to impart to doctoral students a selection of analytical methods and techniques that will prove useful to their PhD projects, strengthening and adding to their current research skills. By the end of the course, students will be expected to have (i) expanded their knowledge of different methods of legal analysis, (ii) improved their ability to express themselves with clarity and concision, especially in written work, and (iii) reflected critically on how to expand and use the methodological toolkit they expect to rely on when writing their dissertations.
General characterization
Code
22110
Credits
10
Responsible teacher
Luís Duarte de Almeida, Fabrizio Esposito, Giulia Priora
Hours
Weekly - 2
Total - 26
Teaching language
English
Prerequisites
Not Applicable
Bibliography
All reading materials will be available on the Moodle page of the course.
Teaching method
Lectures, class exercises, and moderated class discussions. Students have to read the assigned materials before class and do the given assignments by the specified deadlines, with the possibility of students having marks subtracted from their final grade if they fail to submit the required coursework.
Evaluation method
Class participation (40%) and final paper (60%).
Subject matter
1. Developing skills of critical analysis [LDA]
2. The elements of argument [LDA]
3. Writing, good and bad [LDA]
4. Choosing your words [LDA]
5. Crafting your sentences [LDA]
6. Beyond plain language [LDA]
7. Contextualizing legal data [GP]
8. Legal mapping [GP]
9. Content analysis techniques [GP]
10. Legal design [GP]
11. Introduction to law and economics [FE]
12. Reverse-engineering legal reasoning [FE]