Legal History (Law 541) University of Mississippi
Fall 2006 School of Law
MW 9:30-10:50 am Michael H. Hoffheimer
Lamar 550 915-6865 mhoffhei@olemiss.edu
Course requirements
Four short papers and one long paper are due during the semester. There is no final examination. Because this is a seminar, class participation and preparation are required and graded.
Required sources
1. Apology of Socrates & Crito (any editions)*
2. The New Testament (any translation but not the paraphrase versions called "living Bibles")*
2.3. The Digest of Justinian (C.F. Kolbert trans. 1979)
4. Magna Carta*
5. The Trial of Charles I: A Documentary History (D. Iagomarsino & C. Wood ed. 1989)
6. Henry Fielding, Jonathan Wild (2004)(1743)*
7. Wolfgang von Goethe, The Sorrows of Young Werther (any translation)(originally published 1774, revised 1786)*
8. The Declaration of Independence*
9. The Constitution*
10. Frederick Douglass, My Bondage and My Freedom (1855 ed.)*
11. Myrlie Evers with William Peters, For Us the Living (1996)
Sources are available at Square Books second floor (not Offsquare Books), Barnes and Noble, and Campus Book Mart. Sources marked with an asterisk (*) are available on line.
Readings
Readings will be announced in class. The first assignment is to read the Apology of Socrates.
Course objectives and coverage
This course introduces themes in the history of law, examines selected historical issues and events, and provides an introduction to problems of historical sources and historical interpretation. It does not offer a comprehensive survey of the development of law. Coverage begins with ancient Greece and Rome and ends with America in the twentieth century. An undergraduate background in History is not required.
Topics:
I. Ancient Law
A. Greece
Socrates, The Apology and Crito
Sophocles, Antigone.
B. Rome
The Trial of Jesus:
Find and read the parts of the New Testament that describe the trial and execution of Jesus.
The Digest at 37-47 (Introduction), 71-152, 155, 159-60.
Paper due September 6 in class
II. England
A. Norman Conquest
B. Magna Carta
Magna Carta.
Paper due September 20 in class
C. Common Law and Equity
D. The English Constitution
Henry VIII: Movie: A Man for all Seasons.
The Trial of Charles I
The Trial of Charles I: A Documentary History.
E. English Crime and Punishment
Jonathan Wild
Paper due September September 27 in class
III. Central Europe
Goethe, The Sorrows of Young Werther.
Paper due October 2 in class
IV. The United States
A. Declaration of Independence
B. The Constitution.
Paper due October 9 in class
C. Pre-Civil War America
Douglass, My Bondage & My Freedom.
Paper due October 23 in class
D. The Civil War and After: L.Q.C. Lamar
Paper due October 25 in class
E. Civil Rights: Medgar Evers
Myrlie Evers, For Us the Living
Paper due October 30 in class
General requirements for all written work
Papers must be typed, double spaced. Citations must conform to The Bluebook. Papers will be graded for both historical content and literary form.
You may use any source in researching the paper but the paper must be your own work, not a collaboration, and you must properly acknowledge and attribute all sources. Plagiarism on any paper will result in a failing grade for the course, and the offender will be reported to the Student Honor Council. In submitting any work for credit in this course the student agrees to the following pledge (as required by law school policy): "On my honor I have neither given nor received improper assistance. And I will report any improper assistance that I am made aware of."
Long paper. You will research and write one 15-20 page paper. The topic should be discussed with the instructor and approved before the end of September. Oral presentations on papers will be made in class on assigned dates beginning November 1. Long papers are due November 30 at 9:30 am.
Short papers. There will be four short papers. Each paper must be two to four pages long and contain at least three citations in Bluebook form. Pick from the following:
1. Compare and contrast Roman Law and common law using examples from the Digest of Justinian.
2. Discuss three examples of law or legal procedures in Magna Carta.
3. Discuss the treatment of laws and criminals in Jonathan Wild and evaluate the author's attitude towards the legal system of the day.
4. Discuss Goethe's and Werther's attitude towards law and life in the novel The Sorrows of Young Werther.
5. Compare some part of the Constitution to the Articles of Confederation and explain the reasons for the differences in treatment.
6. Explain Frederick Douglass's views on the law and the Constitution in his autobiography.
7. Read any speech or opinion by L.Q.C. Lamar and discuss how it illuminates Lamar's attitudes towards law and the Constitution.
8. Discuss Medgar Evers and the role of the law in the civil rights movement.
Films
The film "A Man for All Seasons" will be shown (tentatively scheduled for September 20, 7:00 pm.) If you are absent, you are responsible for viewing the film on your own and must submit a three-page paper describing the film and explaining its relevance for the course.
Lectures
You must attend one of two law school lectures and write a one-page paper relating the lecture to some theme in legal history: Professor Paul Butler, October 26, 4pm Moot I or Professor John Coffee, November 2, 4pm Moot I.
Field trips
The class will include field trips to the Robinson collection of the University Museum and to the J.D. Williams library. Meet at the University Museum on August 31 at 9:00 am.
Pizza event
You are invited to a pizza party at my home on December 5, at 6:00 pm.
Office hours
I am in my office (Lamar 565) weekdays during work hours and you are welcome to come by without an appointment. You may also call or email to make an appointment.