486 Jurisprudence (Ogbogu)

LAW486

Jurisprudence: Law & Science

(Ogbogu)

Prerequisite courses: 

Prerequisite for: 

Instructor(s): Professor Ubaka Ogbogu

Method of presentation: Seminar

METHOD OF EVALUATION

The method of evaluation includes a final paper worth 50%, a class presentation worth 30%, and two short reflection papers worth 20%.  

COURSE DESCRIPTION

“As prime custodians of the ‘is’ and the ‘ought’ of human experience, science and the law wield enormous power in society. Each plays a part in deciding how things are in the world, both cognitively and materially; each also helps shape how things and people should behave.”  1

This course offers a theoretical examination of points of confrontation between law and science, focusing on legal and philosophical concepts that define, shape and regulate the interactions of both institutions in contemporary society. Drawing mainly from the field of health biotechnology, and Canadian, U.S., and U.K. legal doctrine, the course examines the events, debates and philosophies that shape the interface of law and science in western liberal democracies. The aims of the course are to engage students in a critical analysis of the role that law plays in regulating and influencing scientific concepts and norms and to provide an opportunity for reflection on the ways that two of society’s foremost social institutions interact with and shape broader social and political cultures. 

SPECIAL COMMENTS

This class utilizes collaborative learning strategies, which require that students thoroughly analyze material and actively participate in classroom discussions. If you are not open to independent learning and active participation in a classroom setting, I suggest you find another class.

Description updated 2022-23. Please contact the instructor for any specific questions you may have related to this particular course section.

REQUIRED TEXTS (IF ANY):

N/A

1  Sheila Jasanoff, “Making Order: Law and Science in Action” in Edward J Hackett, Olga Amsterdamska, Michael Lynch & Judy Wajcman, eds, The Handbook of Science and Technology Studies, 3d (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2008) 761 at 767.