Legal anthropology
Encyclopedia
Legal anthropology is a sub-discipline of anthropology
which specializes in "the cross-cultural study of social ordering". This broad definition of the field captures the wide array of research done by legal anthropologists today. Earlier legal anthropological research often focused more narrowly on conflict management, crime, sanctions, or formal regulation. Bronisław Malinowski's 1926 work, Crime and Custom in Savage Society, explored law, order, crime, and punishment among the Trobriand Islanders. Further early works by anthropologists on the topic of law include Henry Sumner Maine’s 1861 work, Ancient Law, and Lewis Henry Morgan’s 1877 work, Ancient Society
. Malinowski, Maine, and Morgan are often thought of as founding thinkers in legal anthropology.
There are a number of useful introductions to the field of legal anthropology (see, e.g.,). Sally Falk Moore
, a leading legal anthropologist, held both a law degree and a Ph.D. in anthropology. Today a growing number of legal anthropologists hold both J.D.
s and advanced degrees in anthropology, and some teach in law school
s while maintaining scholarly connections within the field of legal anthropology; examples include Rebecca French, John Conley, Elizabeth Mertz, and Annelise Riles
. Such combined expertise has also been turned to more applied anthropological
pursuits such as tribal advocacy and forensic ethnography
. See e.g. Allen C. Turner, Ph.D., J.D. Justin Richland, a legal anthropologist who holds both a J.D. and a Ph.D., has served as Justice Pro Tempore of the Hopi Appellate Court in addition to performing highly-regarded academic research in legal anthropology.
If looking for Anthropology departments with faculty specializing in legal anthropology, try the following schools and professors:
University of California, Berkeley
(Laura Nader
), University of California, Irvine
(Susan Bibler Coutin, Bill Maurer, Justin B. Richland), University of Chicago
(John Comaroff
), Duke University
(William M. O'Barr), Princeton University
(Lawrence Rosen
, Carol J. Greenhouse),
State University of New York at Buffalo (Rebecca French), New York University
(Sally Engle Merry), and Cornell University
(Annelise Riles).
The Association for Political and Legal Anthropology, a section of the American Anthropological Association
, is the primary professional association in the U.S. for legal anthropologists. It publishes PoLAR: Political and Legal Anthropology Review, the leading U.S. journal in the field of legal anthropology.
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
which specializes in "the cross-cultural study of social ordering". This broad definition of the field captures the wide array of research done by legal anthropologists today. Earlier legal anthropological research often focused more narrowly on conflict management, crime, sanctions, or formal regulation. Bronisław Malinowski's 1926 work, Crime and Custom in Savage Society, explored law, order, crime, and punishment among the Trobriand Islanders. Further early works by anthropologists on the topic of law include Henry Sumner Maine’s 1861 work, Ancient Law, and Lewis Henry Morgan’s 1877 work, Ancient Society
Ancient Society
Ancient Society is a book by the United States ethnologist Lewis H. Morgan and published in 1877. In this book, Morgan develops his theory of the three stages of human progress, i.e., from Savagery through Barbarism to Civilization...
. Malinowski, Maine, and Morgan are often thought of as founding thinkers in legal anthropology.
There are a number of useful introductions to the field of legal anthropology (see, e.g.,). Sally Falk Moore
Sally Falk Moore
Sally Falk Moore is a legal anthropologist and Professor Emerita at Harvard University. She did her major fieldwork in Tanzania and has published extensively on cross-cultural, comparative legal theory....
, a leading legal anthropologist, held both a law degree and a Ph.D. in anthropology. Today a growing number of legal anthropologists hold both J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
s and advanced degrees in anthropology, and some teach in law school
Law school
A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...
s while maintaining scholarly connections within the field of legal anthropology; examples include Rebecca French, John Conley, Elizabeth Mertz, and Annelise Riles
Annelise Riles
Annelise Riles is a professor of law and anthropology at Cornell Law School and Cornell University respectively. Riles specializes in comparative law as seen through the lens of culture...
. Such combined expertise has also been turned to more applied anthropological
Applied anthropology
Applied anthropology refers to the application of the method and theory of anthropology to the analysis and solution of practical problems. In as much as anthropology traditionally entails four sub-disciplines--Archaeology, biological/physical, cultural/social, and linguistic anthropology—the...
pursuits such as tribal advocacy and forensic ethnography
Forensic anthropology
Forensic anthropology is the application of the science of physical anthropology and human osteology in a legal setting, most often in criminal cases where the victim's remains are in the advanced stages of decomposition. A forensic anthropologist can assist in the identification of deceased...
. See e.g. Allen C. Turner, Ph.D., J.D. Justin Richland, a legal anthropologist who holds both a J.D. and a Ph.D., has served as Justice Pro Tempore of the Hopi Appellate Court in addition to performing highly-regarded academic research in legal anthropology.
If looking for Anthropology departments with faculty specializing in legal anthropology, try the following schools and professors:
University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
(Laura Nader
Laura Nader
Laura Nader is an American anthropologist.She has been a Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley since 1960. She received a BA in Latin American Studies from Wells College in Aurora, NY in 1952. She received her Ph.D...
), University of California, Irvine
University of California, Irvine
The University of California, Irvine , founded in 1965, is one of the ten campuses of the University of California, located in Irvine, California, USA...
(Susan Bibler Coutin, Bill Maurer, Justin B. Richland), University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
(John Comaroff
John Comaroff
John L. Comaroff is a Harold H. Swift Distinguished Service professor of Anthropology and Social Sciences at the University of Chicago. He is also Research Professor at the American Bar Foundation....
), Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
(William M. O'Barr), Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
(Lawrence Rosen
Lawrence Rosen (anthropologist)
Lawrence Rosen is an American anthropologist and scholar of law.Rosen earned his B.A. at Brandeis University in 1964, his Ph.D. in Anthropology form the University of Chicago in 1968, and his J.D. from the University of Chicago in 1974. In 1981 he became one of the first generation of MacArthur...
, Carol J. Greenhouse),
State University of New York at Buffalo (Rebecca French), New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
(Sally Engle Merry), and Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
(Annelise Riles).
The Association for Political and Legal Anthropology, a section of the American Anthropological Association
American Anthropological Association
The American Anthropological Association is a professional organization of scholars and practitioners in the field of anthropology. With 11,000 members, the Arlington, Virginia based association includes archaeologists, cultural anthropologists, biological anthropologists, linguistic...
, is the primary professional association in the U.S. for legal anthropologists. It publishes PoLAR: Political and Legal Anthropology Review, the leading U.S. journal in the field of legal anthropology.
External links
- Association for Political and Legal Anthropology
- PoLAR: Political and Legal Anthropology Review http://aplaorg.org/polar/
See also
- AnthropologyAnthropologyAnthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
- New legal realismNew legal realismNew Legal Realism [NLR] is an emerging school of thought in U.S. legal philosophy.Although it draws on the older Legal Realism from the first half of the twentieth century, New Legal Realism differs in important ways. Notably, it moves beyond the older field’s emphasis on judges, courts, and...
- Law and Society AssociationLaw and Society AssociationThe Law and Society Association is an association founded in 1964. Its members come from many fields and countries and are interested in "the place of law in social, political, economic and cultural life". The association publishes the academic journal Law & Society Review.The LSA's executive...
- Sociology of lawSociology of lawThe sociology of law is often described as a sub-discipline of sociology or an interdisciplinary approach within legal studies...