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This is a copy of “Sociology of Law.” Bibliography in Oxford Bibliographies Online: Sociology, edited by Jeff Manza. Oxford University Press, 2015. First posted in 2011.
Please cite as: Deflem, Mathieu. 2015. “Sociology of Law.” Bibliography in Oxford Bibliographies Online: Sociology, edited by Jeff Manza. Oxford University Press. URL: https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780199756384/obo-9780199756384-0056.xml
Introduction
The
sociology of law refers to the sociological study of law and law-related
phenomena, whereby law is typically conceived as the whole of legal norms in
society as well as the practices and institutions that are associated with
those norms. Dating back to the classic works by Emile Durkheim and Max Weber,
the sociology of law has partly also evolved in conjunction with intellectual
efforts within legal scholarship, where a specialty of sociological
jurisprudence developed. The sociology of law was for some time primarily part
of the multidisciplinary field of law-and-society studies or the law and
society movement, but it has in more recent years grown into a relatively
autonomous branch of theory and research in sociology. It is from within the
theoretical and methodological contours of the sociological discipline that the
sociology of law derives its unique approach and value as a contribution to the
social-scientific study of law. The number, quality, and variety of available
writings in and about the sociology of law reflect its scholarly and
institutional growth as a respected sociological specialty.
General Overviews
The
tension between the sociology of law as a specialty in the broader discipline
of sociology, on the one hand, and as one approach among others in the
law-and-society field, on the other hand, is sharply reflected in the general
works that are available about the subject matter. Some works on the sociology
of law do not distinctly deal with the sociological study of law but instead
provide overviews of the multidisciplinary field of law and society or they
treat the sociology of law in more general terms (as a social science) or, in
very few cases, even as an approach in legal scholarship. Fortunately, some
works provide overviews of the sociology of law as a sociological field of
specialization in relation to long-standing themes and perspectives in the
discipline at large. Deflem 2008 and Tomasic 1985 provide sociological
overviews, as do Arnaud 1981 and Gephart 1993 in non-English works. Calavita
2010 provides no specific disciplinary grounding, while C0tterrell 1992 offers
a work in jurisprudence.
Arnaud,
André-Jean. 1981. Critique de la raison juridique: 1. Où va la sociologie du
droit? Paris: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.
Analysis
of the intellectual development of the sociology of law, with special attention
to the broadening of research areas, especially in European sociology.
Calavita,
Kitty. 2010. Invitation to law & society: An introduction to the study
of real law. Chicago Series in Law and Society. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago
Press.
Provides
an overview of various themes in law-and-society studies based on the author’s
teaching experience. Written by a sociologist, but lacking in disciplinary
focus.
C0tterrell,
Roger. 1992. The sociology of law: An introduction. 2d ed. London:
Butterworths.
While providing good summaries of various theoretical ideas in the sociology of law, this book conceives of the specialty as an approach in legal scholarship, not in sociology.
Deflem,
Mathieu. 2008. Sociology of law: Visions of a scholarly tradition.
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
Provides
an overview of the scholarly and professional development of the sociology of
law as a disciplinary specialty, with particular attention to its theoretical
foundations and the increasing variation in empirical research themes.
Gephart,
Werner. 1993. Gesellschaftstheorie und Recht: Das Recht im soziologischen
Diskurs der Moderne. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp.
Excellent
discussion of major theoretical issues in the sociology of law. Written in
German, this book also shows the sharper development of such questions in some
non-English-speaking countries.
Tomasic,
Roman. 1985. The sociology of law. London: SAGE.
Provides
a general overview of the sociology of law as well as an illustration of some
of its usefulness with reference to a number of empirical subject matters.
Anthologies
Indicative
of the need to establish itself as a separate sociological specialty, the
sociology of law has produced a large number of edited volumes with
contributions of both theoretical and empirical works. Additionally reflecting
the peculiar status of the sociology of law in between sociology, on the one
hand, and legal scholarship, on the other, are the various mixtures in these
works of both sociological and legal writings. Among the older works,
Brantingham and Kress 1979 and Carlen 1976 offer critical overviews broadly
indebted to Marxism, while Evan 1962, Evan 1980, and Schwartz and Skolnick 1970
offer more traditional perspectives. Simon 1968 and Sarat 2004 lack
disciplinary focus, while Abel 1995 and Larson and Schmidt 2014 are specifically
multidisciplinary in orientation. Ferrari 1990 and Baier 2013 testifies to the
global nature of the development of the sociology of law.
Abel,
Richard, ed. 1995. The law and society reader. New York: New York Univ.
Press.
A
collection of articles originally published in the Law & Society Review.
Organized by different substantive topics, the collection admirably reveals the
multidisciplinary of the journal’s best works.
Baier,
Matthias, ed. 2013. Social and legal norms: Towards a socio-legal understanding
of normativity. Farnham, UK: Ashgate.
This
collection is written from the interesting sociological viewpoint of the study
of norms that is associated with the Swedish school of the sociology of law
institutionalized at Lund University.
Banakar, Reza, and Max Travers, eds. 2013. Law and social theory.
2d ed. Oxford: Hart.
This
volume presents a broad overview of the various theoretical traditions in the
sociology of law and law and society scholarship, with additional chapters on
selected substantive topics such as legal pluralism and globalization.
Brantingham, Paul J., and Jack M. Kress, eds. 1979. Structure, law,
and power: Essays in the sociology of law. SAGE Research Progress Series in
Criminology 13. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
A
typical early overview of the sociology of law that provides a wide variety of
papers. Emphasis on critical perspectives, indicative of the popularity of
Marxism during the 1970s.
Carlen, Pat, ed. 1976. The sociology of law. Sociological
Review Monograph 23. Keele, UK: Univ. of Keele.
An overview of papers on the sociology of law, with special emphasis on the growing influence of Marxist perspectives.
Evan, William M., ed. 1962. Law and sociology: Exploratory essays.
Glencoe, IL: Free Press.
An
overview of works on the sociology of law written from the then-highly
influential perspective of structural functionalism.
Evan, William M., ed. 1980. The sociology of law: A
social-structural perspective. New York: Free Press.
Another
overview from the viewpoint of structural functionalism and, more broadly,
macro-sociological perspectives.
Ferrari, Vincenzo, ed. 1990. Developing a sociology of law: A
world-wide documentary enquiry. Milan: Dott A. Giuffrè Editore.
Contributions
on the development and state of the sociology of law in various national
cultures, testifying to the global rise of the sociology of law.
Larson, Erik, and Patrick Schmidt, eds. 2014. The law and society
reader II. New York: New York Univ. Press.
Following
up on the Abel 1995 collection, this is a second collection of excerpts from
articles that were originally published in the Law & Society Review.
The selection mostly focuses on works by established authors in the law and society
field.
Sarat, Austin, ed. 2004. Blackwell companion to law and society.
Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Published
in a series of sociology books, Blackwell Companions to Sociology, this
compendium was edited by a nonsociologist and features several nonsociological
contributions.
Schwartz, Richard D., and Jerome H. Skolnick, ed. 1970. Society and
the legal order: Cases and materials in the sociology of law. New York:
Basic Books.
A
splendid and very elaborate early collection of writings on the sociology of
law, seeking to establish this pursuit as a worthy sociological specialty.
Simon,
Rita J., ed. 1968. The sociology of law: Interdisciplinary readings.
Chandler Publications in Anthropology and Sociology. San Francisco: Chandler.
Indicative of
the variable understandings of sociology of law, this collection seeks to
attain interdisciplinary objectives.
Textbooks
There are
numerous textbooks available in the broader law and society field, most of
which provide general introductions to the study of law from the viewpoint of
various social science traditions, but some of which are written by
sociologists and/or at least give prominence to the sociological study of law.
The latter works can therefore be seen as textbooks in the sociology of law
rather than in law-and- society studies. Yet only few textbooks are devoted
distinctly to the sociology of law as a specialty in, and related to the major
strands of, the discipline sociology. Friedrichs 2011 and Vago 2011 lack much
disciplinary focus, while Barkan 2008, Milovanovic 2003, Sutton 2001, Treviño
1996, and Turkel 1996 are more distinctly sociological in orientation.
Rehbinder 2009 and Röhl 1987 again testify to the strength of the sociology of
law outside of the English-speaking world.
Barkan,
Steven A. 2008. Law and society: An introduction. Upper Saddle River,
NJ: Pearson.
Oriented at both sociological and interdisciplinary undergraduate courses, this textbook reviews a number of substantive social concerns of law, including law and inequality, law and social control, and courts.
Friedrichs,
David O. 2011. Law in our lives: An introduction. 3d ed. New York:
Oxford Univ. Press.
Written for
undergraduate students, this textbook provides an introduction into a number of
empirical themes in the sociology of law and law-and-society scholarship, such
as law and culture, the legal profession, and law and social change.
Milovanovic,
Dragan. 2003. An introduction to the sociology of law. 3d ed. Monsey,
NY: Criminal Justice.
A
theoretically oriented and challenging introduction to the sociology of law,
with special emphasis on semiotics and postmodernism.
Rehbinder,
Manfred. 2009. Rechtssoziologie. 7th ed. Kurzlehrbücher für das
juristische Studium. Munich: Verlag C.H. Beck.
An excellent
introduction to the sociology of law, especially from a theoretical viewpoint,
this German textbook shows the high standards in university-level education of
the sociology of law in some countries.
Röhl,
Klaus F. 1987. Rechtssoziologie: Ein Lehrbuch. Cologne: Carl Heymanns
Verlag.
A good mix of empirical and theoretical themes, this German book demonstrates the value of contributions in the sociology of law in countries with long-standing intellectual traditions in the sociological discipline.
A good mix of empirical and theoretical themes, this German book demonstrates the value of contributions in the sociology of law in countries with long-standing intellectual traditions in the sociological discipline.
Sutton,
John R. 2001. Law/society: Origins, interactions, and change. Sociology
for a New Century. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge.
An overview
of selected theories and themes in the sociology of law, with special emphasis
on findings from empirical research.
Treviño,
A. Javier. 1996. The sociology of law: Classical and contemporary
perspectives. New York: St. Martin’s.
A usefully
broad if somewhat unsystematic introduction to theories in the sociology of
law.
Turkel,
Gerald. 1996. Law and society: Critical approaches. Boston: Allyn &
Bacon.
A fruitful
mixture of empirical and theoretical themes, this book has a solid sociological
orientation despite its aim to provide a broader law-and-society work.
Vago,
Steven. 2011. Law and society. 10th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Prentice Hall.
The single
most influential textbook in law and society as well as, because of its use in
university teaching, in the sociology of law, this work is entirely lacking in
disciplinary orientation and provides only rudimentary overviews of selected
subject matters related to law.
Bibliographies
There are
very few bibliographies available on the sociology of law, although most of the
general works, compilations, and textbooks contain elaborate bibliographical
overviews. Rehbinder 1975 is a bibliographical effort, along with reflective
essays on the development of the sociology of law, which has a European
emphasis. Treviño 2008 provides the only real bibliographical book in the
sociology of law. It focuses mostly on theoretical works
Rehbinder,
Manfred. 1975. Sociology of law: A trend report and bibliography.
Current Sociology 20.3. The Hague: Mouton.
A brief
overview of the development of the sociology of law with bibliographical notes.
The emphasis is largely on European traditions.
Treviño,
A. Javier. 2008. The sociology of law: An expanded bibliography of
theoretical literature. 4th ed. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen.
A volume that
is mostly oriented at theoretical works, this book is the only bibliography
available on the sociology of law that is printed in book form.
Classical Background
The classical
period in the formation of sociology was extremely productive with explicit
respect to the sociological study of law. In fact, law was among the central
themes in the works of many classical scholars, even though later developments
in sociology were less explicitly devoted to the study of law. The pursuit
began to reemerge, however, especially from the 1960s onward, in the wake of
the development of the law-and-society tradition. Several classical scholars,
such as Marx and Weber, were trained in law and in varying degrees devoted
their theories to the role of law in society. In view of their contemporary
influence, the writings of Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Emile Durkheim deserve
special attention.
KARL MARX
Arguably
the most influential social thinker of all time, Marx was not influential in
the sociology of law until discussion of his theories began, as late as the
1960s and 1970s, in the sociology of law as part of a broader trend toward the
adoption of Marxian ideas in sociology at large. Marx’s works were
theoretically among the most powerful in the modern sociology of law even
though he was largely silent on law, as his interests remained largely focused
on the economic conditions of social evolution. Marx 1842 is one of Marx’s very
few writings that explicitly deal with a matter of law. Beirne and Quinney 1982
and Cain and Hunt 1979 provide collections of relevant writings by and about
Marx’s philosophy of law. Cain 1974, Hirst 1972, Spitzer 1983, and Stone 1985
offer sympathetic introductions to the relevance of Marx for sociology of law.
Quinney 1973 provides an early systematic attempt to apply Marx to the study of
modern law.
Beirne, Piers, and Richard Quinney, eds. 1982. Marxism and law.
New York: Wiley.
Excellent
overview of writings by and about Marx pertaining to his philosophical ideas
relevant for the study of law.
Cain, Maureen. 1974. The main themes of Marx’ and Engels’ sociology of
law. British Journal of Law and Society 1.2: 136–148.
Showing
how late the influence of Marx came into the sociology of law, this paper from
the 1970s provides a sympathetic analysis on the value of Marx to the sociology
of law.
Cain, Maureen, and Alan Hunt, eds. 1979. Marx and Engels on law.
Law, State, and Society 1. New York: Academic Press.
Compilation
of the central works of Marx on law into one volume.
Hirst, Paul Q. 1972. Marx and Engels on law, crime, and morality. Economy
and Society 1.1: 28–56.
Programmatic
statement on the value of a Marxist sociology of law.
Marx, Karl. 1842. Debates on the law on thefts of wood. Rheinische
Zeitung 298, suppl. (October 25).
One
of the very few writings by Marx that explicitly dealt with law, this paper
critically discusses a new law that was passed in Marx’s days. A useful
illustration of the nature of Marx’s social philosophy and its practical
implications. Translated by Clemens Dutt.
Quinney, Richard. 1973. Critique of legal order: Crime control in
capitalist society. Boston: Little, Brown.
This
book-length study provides an early example of the way in which the sociology
of law can apply the ideas of Marx for the empirically oriented study of law in
modern society.
Spitzer, Steven. 1983. Marxist perspectives in the sociology of law. Annual
Review of Sociology 9:103–124.
While
Marx’s work was a late influence on the sociology of law, it was immediately very
popular. Spitzer has written an early overview of the Marxist tradition in the
sociology of law.
Stone, Alan. 1985. The place of law in the Marxian
structure-superstructure archetype. Law and Society Review 19.1: 39–68.
An
exposition of the place of law in Marx’s thinking, meant to convince the reader
of the value of the Marxian ideas.
MAX WEBER
It
is beyond dispute that the work of Weber is the single most influential
classical contribution to the sociological study of law. Not only does Weber’s
work count among the most significant and foundational developments in
sociological thinking, it also devotes very substantial and elaborate attention
to the role and evolution of law in society. Weber 1978 and Weber 1954 provide
the central ideas of Weber’s sociology, in general, and his sociology of law,
in particular. Albrow 1975, Cain 1980, Trubek 1985, and Zeitlin 1985 provide
helpful introductions. Ewing 1987 and Andrini 2004 offer theoretical
discussions.
Albrow, Martin. 1975. Legal positivism and bourgeois materialism: Max
Weber’s view of the sociology of law. British Journal of Law and Society 2.1:
14–31.
Discussion
of Weber’s sociology of law from a critical viewpoint, indicative of the
growing influence of Marx alongside of Weber during the 1970s.
Andrini, Simona. 2004. Max Weber’s sociology of law as a turning point
of his methodological approach. International Review of Sociology/Revue
Internationale de Sociologie 14.2: 143–152.
Discussion
of Weber’s sociology of law in the light of the evolution of his broader
oeuvre.
Cain, Maureen. 1980. The limits of idealism: Max Weber and the
sociology of law. Research in Law and Sociology 3:53–83.
A
theoretical reflection on Weber’s sociology of law from the viewpoint of
Marxist sociology.
Coutu, Michel. 2013. Weber reading Stammler: What horizons for the
sociology of law? Journal of Law and Society 40:356– 374.
Argues
for the centrality of Weber’s critique of Stammler, especially for the study of
law and the demarcation of normative and empirical legal orders.
Ewing, Sally. 1987. Formal justice and the spirit of capitalism: Max
Weber’s sociology of law. Law and Society Review 21.3: 487–512.
An
excellent in-depth exploration of central theoretical themes in Weber’s
sociology of law. Written by an anthropologist, the paper shows the influence
of Weber beyond the contours of sociology.
Trubek, David M. 1985. Reconstructing Max Weber’s sociology of law. Stanford
Law Review 37.3: 919–936.
Another
fine discussion of Weber’s theories on law, written by a legal scholar and
published in a law review, testifying to Weber’s influence in the field of law.
Weber, Max. 1954. Max Weber on law in economy and society.
Edited by M. Rheinstein. Translated by Edward Shils and Max Rheinstein. New
York: Simon and Schuster.
The
famous chapter on the sociology of law from Weber’s Economy and Society was
separately translated and published in the United States in the 1950s even
before other chapters were translated. Originally published in 1922.
Weber, Max. 1978. Economy and Society: An outline of interpretive
sociology. Edited by G. Roth and C. Wittich. Berkeley: Univ. of California
Press.
The
major collection of Weber’s theoretical writings in sociology, this book
provides an excellent overview of his thinking, including his ideas on the
sociology of law. Originally published in 1922.
Zeitlin, Irving M. 1985. Max Weber’s sociology of law. University
of Toronto Law Journal 35.2: 183–214.
An
introductory overview of Weber’s sociology of law. Like many other such
introductions, this paper is published in a law review rather than a sociology
journal.
EMILE Durkheim
Durkheim’s
work is intellectually as central to the development of sociology as are the
writings of Weber. In matters of the study of law, also, Durkheim’s
contributions are considerable and, in terms of its impact to the sociology of
law, arguably second only to Weber’s. Durkheim 1984, Durkheim 1992, and
Durkheim 1983 include Durkheim’s most important writings on law. Selections
thereof are compiled in Lukes and Scull 1985. Clarke 1976 and C0tterrell 1977
provide introductions to Durkheim’s sociology of law, while Cartwright and
Schwartz 1973 offers an influential empirical analysis.
Cartwright, B. C., and R. D. Schwartz. 1973. The invocation of legal
norms: An empirical investigation of Durkheim and Weber. American
Sociological Review 38.3: 340–354.
A
highly influential empirical study on the validity of Durkheim’s theory of
legal evolution that inspired several other empirical studies and aided the
discussions on classical sociology in terms of its relevance for empirical
research.
Clarke, Michael. 1976. Durkheim’s sociology of law. British Journal
of Law and Society 3.2: 246–255.
A
useful introductory exposition of Durkheim’s thinking on law, emphasizing its
key aspects.
C0tterrell, Roger. 1977. Durkheim on legal development and social
solidarity. British Journal of Law and Society 4.2: 241–252.
An
overview of the central themes in Durkheim’s sociology of law, written by the
leading scholar on Durkheim’s approach to law.
Durkheim, Emile. 1983. The evolution of punishment. In Durkheim and
the law. Edited by S. Lukes and A. Scull, 102–132. Law in Society. New
York: St. Martin’s.
Durkheim’s
seminal formulation of the changes in punishment and the elaboration of the
prison system. Originally published in 1901.
Durkheim, Emile. 1984. The division of labor in society.
Translated by W. D. Halls. New York: Free Press.
In
this early work, Durkheim wrote most explicitly about his theory on law,
specifically the evolution from repressive to restitutive law. Originally
published in 1893.
Durkheim, Emile. 1992. Professional ethics and civic morals.
Translated by Cornelia Brookfield. Routledge Sociology Classics. London:
Routledge.
A
lesser-known book of lectures; in this work Durkheim provided important ideas
on the relationship between law, democracy, and rights. Originally published in
1900. First published in English in 1957.
Lukes, Steven, and Andrew Scull, eds. 1985. Emile Durkheim and the
law. Law in Society. New York: St. Martin’s.
A
useful selection of Durkheim’s most central writings on law, along with a
competent introduction by the editors.
Smith, Kenneth. 2014. Émile Durkheim and the collective
consciousness of society: A study in criminology. New York: Anthem.
An
exposition of Durkheim’s theory of collective consciousness and its relevance
for the study of law, especially punishment and social control.
Other Classical Scholars
Besides
the likes of Weber and Durkheim, several other scholars had a role in the
development of the sociology of law around the turn of the 20th century and
during the years before World War II. Unifying these scholars’ works are their
various attempts to formulate and institutionalize the sociology of law as a
viable research domain. Petrazycki 1955 and Ehrlich 1962 are influential
classical works. Gurvitch 1942, Timasheff 1937, and Timasheff 1976 are
significant in the further development of the sociology of law, especially from
a theoretical viewpoint. Gorecki 1975, McDonald 1979, and Schiff 1981 offer
relevant introductory overviews.
Ehrlich, Eugen. 1962. Fundamental principles of the sociology of
law. Translated by Walter L. Moll. New York: Russell & Russell.
The
Austro-Hungarian scholar Ehrlich was among the first to propose a science of
law in opposition to a normative theory of law. He proposed a focus on living
law as the social dimension of law beyond the more narrow juridical conception
of law. Originally published in 1913.
Górecki, Jan, ed. 1975. Sociology and jurisprudence of Leon
Petrazycki. Urbana: Univ. of Illinois Press.
A
useful compilation of essays on the Russian scholar who was instrumental in the
development of a scientific theory of law, especially in the (eastern) European
sociology of law.
Gurvitch, Georges. 1942. Sociology of law. New York:
Philosophical Library and Alliance Book Corporation.
A
veritable sociology of law was proposed and developed by this student of
Petrazycki, whose influence is considerable until this day, especially in
France.
McDonald,
Pauline. 1979. The legal sociology of Georges Gurvitch. British Journal of
Law and Society 6.1: 24–52.
An excellent
overview of the work of Gurvitch, especially useful for introductory purposes.
Petrazycki,
Leon. 1955. Law and morality. 20th Century Legal Philosophy 7.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.
This
compilation of papers by the Russian scholar provides a useful glimpse into his
thinking on law, although several other ideas of his are not available in
English translation. Originally published from 1905 to 1907.
Schiff,
David. 1981. N. S. Timasheff’s sociology of law. Modern Law Review 44.4:
400–421.
A concise
overview of the sociological ideas of an important student of Petrazycki.
Timasheff,
Nicholas S. 1937. What is “sociology of law”? American Journal of Sociology 43.2:
225–235.
An early
programmatic statement on the need for a sociology of law by this student of
Petrazycki.
Timasheff,
Nicholas S. 1976. An introduction to the sociology of law. Westport, CT:
Greenwood.
In this book,
Timasheff proposes an elaborate theory on the sociology of law that seeks to
take the work of Petrazycki out of legal scholarship and make it more
distinctly sociological. Originally published in 1939.
Modern Background
There is a
direct line of influence from the classical tradition to the modern sociology
of law. As such, the single most critical moment in the development of the
sociology of law as we know it today was the work of Talcott Parsons and its
influence and reception, including the various criticisms that were raised and
the new theories that evolved after him. However, besides sociology itself, the
modern sociology of law also benefited from developments in law or
jurisprudence and legal scholarship. Some influences on the sociology of law,
then, were distinctly nonsociological. This section therefore includes
subsections on the legal influences of the sociology of law; empirical
contributions and programmatic statements; the contribution of structural
functionalism; the pure sociological perspective; and some other modern
perspectives.
Legal Influences
Historically,
the sociology of law both benefited from jurisprudential scholarship by
receiving interesting stimuli for sociological reflection, but was also
hindered in its autonomous development by the appropriation of sociological
ideas in law. Until today, the relationship between sociology and law remains
difficult. Pound 1942 and Pound 1943 are works in sociological jurisprudence,
which indirectly influenced the sociology of law. Such developments are further
discussed in Hunt 1978, Auerbach 1966, and Riesman 1957, which all argue for
the relevance of sociology to legal scholarship. Galanter 1974, Unger 1976, and
Unger 1986 are groundbreaking works in critical legal studies, of which
Fitzpatrick and Hunt 1987 provides a discussion.
Auerbach,
Carl A. 1966. Legal tasks for the sociologist. Law and Society Review 1.1:
91–104.
An
early statement that the sociology of law is relevant to legal scholarship and
legal policy, indicating the need felt by some sociologists of law to relate
their works to discussions in legal scholarship.
Fitzpatrick, Peter, and Alan Hunt, eds. 1987. Critical legal
studies. Oxford: Blackwell.
An
excellent compendium of papers on critical legal studies, a leftist
intellectual orientation in law that also received a lot of attention from
sociologists of law.
Galanter, Marc. 1974. Why the “haves” come out ahead: Speculations on
the limits of legal change. Law and Society Review 9.1: 95–160.
Among
the single most influential papers in the law-and-society tradition, this
article has also influenced much sociological work on law and inequality.
Hunt, Alan J. 1978. The sociological movement in law. Philadelphia:
Temple Univ. Press.
An authoritative statement of the need to be more sociological in legal scholarship, which was widely read and highly influential, especially among legal scholars and members of the law and society movement.
Pound, Roscoe. 1942. Social control through law. Powell
Lectures on Philosophy at Indiana University, 6th series. New Haven, CT: Yale
Univ. Press.
The
most influential statement on the perspective of sociological jurisprudence and
the relation between law and sociology.
Pound, Roscoe. 1943. Sociology of law and sociological jurisprudence. University
of Toronto Law Journal 5.1: 1–20.
A
neglected but very sharp formulation of the differences between the sociology
of law, on the one hand, and sociological jurisprudence, on the other, written
by the founder of the latter perspective.
Riesman, David. 1957. Law and sociology: Recruitment, training and
colleagueship. Stanford Law Review 9.4: 643–673.
Among
the earliest writings in modern sociology discussing the relationship between
sociology and law, written by one of the most influential social scientists.
Unger, Roberto M. 1976. Law in modern society: Toward a criticism
of social theory. New York: Free Press. A groundbreaking study of the role of law in society, written from a
critical viewpoint.
Unger, Roberto M. 1986. The critical legal studies movement.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.
A
manifesto of the perspective of critical legal studies written by one of its
intellectual founders.
Empirical Contributions
and Programmatic Statements
In
the period after World War II, the sociology of law grew to become a
sociological specialty under the influence of at first rather isolated writings
that included both empirical studies as well as theoretical explorations. These
writings led the way toward a more systematic development of the sociology of
law as an institutionalized specialty field in sociology. Chambliss 1964 is an
influential empirical study on the sociology of law, while Gibbs 1966, Rose
1962, and Turk 1976 provide programmatic statements. Early overviews of modern
sociology are offered by Aubert 1963, Davis 1957, Selznick 1959, and Skolnick
1965.
Aubert, Vilhelm. 1963. Researches in the sociology of law. American
Behavior Scientist 7.4: 16–20.
An
early overview of empirical work in the sociology of law.
Chambliss, William J. 1964. A sociological analysis of the law of
vagrancy. Social Problems 12.1: 67–77.
Among
the most influential empirical studies in the sociology of law, this work
analyzes the development of laws on vagrancy from a historical and structural
viewpoint that eventually would evolve into a Marxist orientation.
Davis, F. James. 1957. The treatment of law in American sociology. Sociology
and Social Research 42.2: 99–105.
An
early overview of the manner in which law was studied in the sociological
community.
Gibbs, Jack P. 1966. The sociology of law and normative phenomena. American
Sociological Review 31.3: 315–325.
A
theoretical formulation of the manner in which law can be studied
sociologically, with special attention toward the construction of testable
formal theories.
Rose, Arnold M. 1962. Problems of tomorrow: Some suggestions for
research in the sociology of law. Social Problems 9.3: 281–284.
An
interesting if somewhat unsystematic paper aimed at stimulating research in the
sociology of law, written by a notable scholar.
Selznick, Philip. 1959. The sociology of law. In Sociology today:
Problems and prospects. Edited by R. Merton, L. Broom, and L. S. Cottrell
Jr., 115–127. Researches in the Social, Cultural, and Behavioral Sciences. New
York: Basic Books.
An
early overview of the sociology of law as a specialty by one of the founders of
the institutionalist perspective on the study of law and organizations.
Skolnick, Jerome H. 1965. The sociology of law in America: Overview
and trends. Social Problems 13.1: 4–39.
An
early overview of theoretical and empirical works in the sociology of law.
Turk, Austin T. 1976. Law as a weapon in social conflict. Social
Problems 23.3: 276–291.
Among
the first critical presentations of a systematic theory of law in society.
Structural Functionalism
Post–World
War II sociology was theoretically dominated by the perspective of structural
functionalism. The chief theoretical architect of this movement was Talcott
Parsons. Lesser known but theoretically significant in formulating the contours
of a sociology of law are Parsons’s writings on law. They indicate the
relevance of classical sociology to modern sociology in the study of law as
well as the central demarcation between sociology of law and legal scholarship.
Parsons 1954, Parsons 1962, Parsons 1968, and Parsons 1978 are the most
important works on the sociology of law by the intellectual leader of the
structural-functionalist perspective. Damn 1976 and Rocher 1989 offer
discussions of Parsons’s sociology of law. Evan 1990 provides a functionalist
theory of law. Deflem 1998 undertakes a relevant empirical analysis.
Damm, Reinhard. 1976. Systemtheorie und Recht: Zur Normentheorie
Talcott Parsons’. Schriftenreihe zur Rechtssoziologie und
Rechtstatsachenforschung 37. Berlin: Duncker and Humblot.
This
German-language work provides an excellent overview of the central themes in
Parsons’s sociology of law.
Deflem, Mathieu. 1998. The boundaries of abortion law: Systems theory
from Parsons to Luhmann and Habermas. Social Forces 76.3: 775–818.
An
empirical analysis based on the work of Parsons and its relative value vis-à-vis
other contemporary systems theories.
Evan, William M. 1990. Social structure and law: Theoretical and
empirical perspectives. SAGE Library of Social Research 180. Newbury Park,
CA: SAGE.
A
late effort to formulate a functionalist theory of law by a former student of
Parsons.
Parsons, Talcott. 1954. A sociologist looks at the legal profession.
In Essays in sociological theory. Rev. ed. By Talcott Parsons, 370–385.
New York: Free Press.
Parsons’s
first effort in the sociology of law focuses on the legal profession as an
extension of his long-standing interest in the professions. First published in
1952. E-book.
Parsons, Talcott. 1962. The law and social control. In Law and
sociology: Exploratory essays. Edited by W. M. Evan, 56–72. New York: Free
Press of Glencoe.
A
perspective of law as a form of social control, from the viewpoint of Parsons’s
evolving systems theory.
Parsons, Talcott. 1968. Law and sociology: A promising courtship? In The
path of the law from 1967: Proceedings and papers at the Harvard Law School
Convocation held on the 150th anniversary of its founding. Edited by A. E.
Sutherland, 47–54. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.
A
discussion of the mutual value of law and sociology, written while Parsons was
team-teaching a law and sociology seminar with legal scholar Lon Fuller.
Parsons, Talcott. 1978. Law as an intellectual stepchild. In Social
system and legal process. Edited by H. M. Johnson, 11–58. Jossey-Bass
Social and Behavioral Science Series 47. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Parsons’s
most systematic theoretical formulation of the role of law in society, this
paper was to be elaborated into a book-length study of law.
Rocher, Guy. 1989. Le droit et la sociologie du droit chez Talcott
Parsons. Sociologie et Sociétés 21.1: 143–163.
A
useful overview of the place of law in Parsons’s thinking, written by a former
student of Parsons and leading scholar in the sociology of law.
Donald Black and Pure
Sociology
Very
few scholars in the modern sociology of law have managed to gain an influence
as great as Donald Black’s. Because of the clarity with which he formulated a
general sociological theory of law, his work has attracted great attention from
friends and foes alike. There is arguably no other theoretical framework in the
modern sociology of law that is as systematic and ambitious as Black’s paradigm
of pure sociology and its accompanying theory of social geometry. Black 1972 is
the earliest statement of a pure sociology of law, on which Black 1976 provides
an elaboration. Black 1989 and Black 1998 elaborate on the model. Greenberg
1983 offers a theoretical critique, while Hembroff 1987 provides an empirical
test.
Black, Donald J. 1972. The boundaries of legal sociology. Yale Law
Journal 81.6: 1086–1100.
Among
the most influential and controversial modern statements to develop a
scientific theory of law as a sociological subject matter.
Black, Donald J. 1976. The behavior of law. New York: Academic
Press.
This
concise work presents one of the most ambitious projects in the modern
sociology of law. A highly influential theoretical formulation to study and
explain law and related phenomena in society.
Black, Donald J. 1989. Sociological justice. New York: Oxford
Univ. Press.
An
application of Black’s sociology of law to practical questions in legal policy.
Black, Donald J. 1998. The social structure of right and wrong.
Rev. ed. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
This
collection provides a broadening of Black’s approach beyond the contours of law
to other areas of conflict resolution.
Greenberg, David F. 1983. Donald Black’s sociology of law: A critique.
Law and Society Review 17.2: 337–368.
A
negative critique of Black’s approach, indicative of the influence of Black’s
work even among scholars who do not share his ideas.
Hembroff, Larry A. 1987. The seriousness of acts and social contexts:
A test of Black’s theory of the behavior of law. American Journal of
Sociology 93.2: 322–347.
Among
the many empirical studies that rely on Black’s work, this paper indicates the
value of testability in developing theories in the sociology of law.
Other Perspectives
Modern
sociology of law exhibits many of the same characteristics of theoretical
pluralism as do other specialty areas in the sociology of law. The variety of
perspectives in the sociological study of law demonstrates the maturity of the
sociology of law as a field in the discipline of sociology at large. Especially
noteworthy are the influences of contemporary thinkers in social theory whose
works have been applied in the sociology of law. Luhmann 2014 and Luhmann 2004
are the English-language editions of Germany’s leading sociologist of law.
Nobles and Schiff 2013 offers an application of Luhmann’s central ideas. A
contrasting theoretical perspective is offered by Habermas 1996. Foucault 1977
is highly influential, especially for the study of punishment and social
control. Bourdieu 1987 has more recently gained a following among sociologists
of law.
Bourdieu, Pierre. 1987. The force of the law: Toward a sociology of
the juridical field. Hastings Law Journal 38.5: 805–853.
This paper by the famous French sociologist has been very influential, especially in empirical research, even though it is his only explicit formulation of a sociology of law. Translated by Richard Terdiman.
Dezalay, Yves, and Mikael Rask Madsen. 2012. The force of law and
lawyers: Pierre Bourdieu and the reflexive sociology of law. Annual Review
of Law and Social Science 8:433–452.
A
thorough analysis of Bourdieu’s sole article on law in the context of his
approach of reflexive sociology.
Foucault, Michel. 1977. Discipline and punish: The birth of the
prison. Translated by Alan Sheridan. New York: Pantheon.
Arguably
among the most influential studies in modern sociology of law, this work by the
French philosopher has gained wide attention among sociologists of law,
especially those interested in social control and punishment. Originally
published in 1975.
Habermas, Jürgen. 1996. Between facts and norms: Contributions to
a discourse theory of law and democracy. Translated by William Rehg.
Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought. Cambridge, MA: MIT.
A
dense and authoritative formulation of the place of law in society from the
theoretical framework of discourse theory. Originally published in 1996.
Luhmann, Niklas. 2004. Law as a social system. Translated by
Klaus A. Ziegert. Oxford Socio-Legal Studies. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
Luhmann’s
theory of law elaborated from the viewpoint of systems theory toward the
formulation of his autopoietic perspective. Originally published in 1993.
Luhmann, Niklas. 2014. A sociological theory of law. 2d ed.
Translated by Elizabeth King and Martin Albrow. Oxford: Routledge.
English
translation of the first book-length study by one of Germany’s most important
thinkers in the modern sociology of law. An ambitious study that is also highly
complex and has yet to receive its due attention beyond Germany. Originally
published in German in 1972.
Nobles,
Richard, and David Schiff. 2013. Observing law through systems theory.
Oxford: Hart.
This book is
an application of Luhmann’s sociological approach to the study of law to a
variety of legal issues, such as legal argumentation, globalization, and human
rights.
Central Themes of Research
The modern
sociology of law involves empirical research on a large number of issues
related to law. The very development of the sociology of law into an
institutionalized specialty field implies that any overview of these research
efforts will be highly selective. The following overview focuses on
sociological work with respect to the relation between law and institutions;
the centrality of the legal profession; and the law, punishment, and social
control.
Law and Institutions
It is among
the single most typical characteristics of the sociology of law, regardless of
the specific theoretical approaches that are used, to focus attention on the
role of law in relation to other social institutions. The theoretical
positioning of law in society leads to a wide variety of empirical efforts that
involve law as it relates to politics, economy, and culture. On law and
organizations, the work of Selznick 1969 is foundational. Further applications
and discussions of this perspective are offered by Edelman and Suchman 1997,
Edelman and Stryker 2005, and Krygier 2012. In matters of culture and gender,
Fletcher 2002 provides a theoretical overview, while Hull 2006 offers an
empirical study. Broadening the focus on inequalities, Seron and Munger 1996
offers overviews, while Skrentny 1996 provides an empirical study. Ewick and
Silbey 1998 analyzes related conditions of legal consciousness.
Edelman,
Lauren B., and Robin Stryker. 2005. A sociological approach to law and the
economy. In The handbook of economic sociology. Edited by N. Smelser and
R. Swedberg, 527–551. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press.
An overview
and discussion of theoretical and empirical work on the relationship between
law and economy, with special attention to the behavior of organizations.
Edelman,
Lauren B., and Mark C. Suchman. 1997. The legal environments of organizations. Annual
Review of Sociology 23:479–515.
Overview of
sociology of law research in the tradition of institutionalism, an influential
sociological perspective involved with the study of organizations.
Ewick,
Patricia, and Susan S. Silbey. 1998. The common place of law: Stories from
everyday life. Language and Legal Discourse. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago
Press.
A
groundbreaking empirical study of everyday perceptions of law on the basis of a
narrative analysis. Important for the study of legal consciousness as a topic
in the sociology of law.
Fletcher,
Ruth. 2002. Feminist legal theory. In An introduction to law and social
theory. Edited by Ruth Banakar and Max
Travers, 135–154. Portland, OR: Hart.
An
exposition of the contributions of feminist perspectives to the sociology of
law and the broader field of sociolegal studies.
Gray, Garry C., and Susan S. Silbey. 2014. Governing inside the
organization: Interpreting regulation and compliance. American Journal of
Sociology 120:96–145.
This
study seeks to show the variation that exists in legal compliance across and
within organizations as related to positions, autonomy, and expertise within
every organization.
Hull, Kathleen E. 2006. Same-sex marriage: The cultural politics of
love and law. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
A
penetrating empirical analysis of the regulation of same-sex marriage in the United
States.
Krygier, Martin. 2012. Philip Selznick: Ideals in the world. Stanford,
CA: Stanford Univ. Press.
This
overview and discussion of the ideas of Philip Selznick, the father of the
highly influential institutionalist perspective, situates Selznick’s ideas on
law usefully in connection with his work on organizations.
Richman, Kimberly D. 2015. License to wed: What legal marriage
means to same-sex couples. New York: New York Univ. Press.
This
book offers an examination of the meanings marriage has for same-sex couples in
California and Massachusetts, arguing for the relevance of the legality of
same-sex marriage.
Selznick, Philip, with Philippe Nonet and Howard M. Vollmer. 1969. Law,
society, and industrial justice. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
A
highly influential study of the relationship between law and economy in modern
society, with special emphasis on the behavior of organizations.
Seron, Carroll, and Frank Munger. 1996. Law and inequality: Race,
gender . . . and, of course, class. Annual Review of Sociology 22:187–212.
A
discussion of empirical research in the sociology of law and in law-and-society
scholarship that is centrally concerned with inequality.
Skrentny, John D. 1996. The ironies of affirmative action: Politics,
culture, and justice in America. Morality and Society. Chicago: Univ. of
Chicago Press.
An
insightful analysis of affirmative action policies conducted from a
sociological perspective that focuses on the intersections of law, politics,
and culture.
The Legal Profession
There
is no topic studied as much in the field of law-and-society studies and in
sociology of law as the legal profession. While in sociolegal studies this
focus betrays the tendency of law to incorporate all legal expertise, including
the study of its own professionals, in sociology this concern has been
articulated in relation to broader sociological questions on the role of the
professions in modern society. Carlin 1962 and Heinz and Laumann 1982 are among
the most influential empirical studies on the legal profession. Hagan and Kay
1995 as well as Dixon and Seron 1995 offer recent empirical analyses in
relation to gender. Dezalay and Garth 1996 discuss the internationalization of
lawyers and their activities.
Carlin, Jerome E. 1962. Lawyers on their own: The solo practitioner
in an urban setting. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Univ. Press.
One
of the most influential and groundbreaking classic sociological studies on the
legal profession, which influenced nearly all following empirical studies.
Dezalay, Yves, and Bryant G. Garth. 1996. Dealing in virtue:
International commercial arbitration and the construction of a transnational
legal order. Language and Legal Discourse. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
A
major study of the transformation of the legal profession in the context of
globalization, especially in the field of arbitration.
Dixon, Jo, and Carroll Seron. 1995. Stratification in the legal
profession: Sex, sector and salary. Law and Society Review 29.3:
381–412.
A
classic study on pay differentials among male and female lawyers, suggesting
influences from gender as well as market conditions.
Hagan, John, and Fiona M. Kay. 1995. Gender in practice: A study of
lawyers’ lives. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
An empirical analysis of the legal profession in Canada that focuses particularly on female lawyers, thus highlighting the importance of gender in the legal profession.
Heinz, John P., and Edward O. Laumann. 1982. Chicago lawyers: The
social structure of the bar. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Possibly
the most influential study of the legal profession in modern sociology, this
work brings out the hierarchy and status differentials that exist in the legal
profession.
Marshall, Anna-Maria, and Daniel Crocker Hale. 2014. Cause lawyering. Annual
Review of Law and Social Science 10:301–320.
Examines
the social and political contexts of cause lawyering and the relations between
lawyers and their clients.
Punishment
and Social Control
Because
of the recent institutionalization and rising popularity of criminology and
criminal justice, much work on punishment and social control has been taken out
of sociology proper. Nonetheless, there also exists a research tradition in the
sociology of law that focuses on important questions concerning the enforcement
of law. Ross 1926 is the earliest systematic work on the sociology of social
control, while Cohen 1985 is an influential modern treatise. Garland 1985 and
Manza and Uggen 2006 represent two influential contemporary
empirical
studies. Garland 2002 is a highly discussed recent work on the increasing
punitiveness of modern Western societies. Garland 2010 offers a novel
perspective of the death penalty in the United States.
Cohen, Stanley. 1985. Visions of social control: Crime, punishment,
and classification. Cambridge, UK: Polity.
A novel and influential perspective on the study of social control and its relevance for questions concerning deviance, crime, and law.
Garland, David. 1985. Punishment and welfare: A history of penal
strategies. Brookfield, VT: Gower.
A
groundbreaking historical study of the evolving role of punishment in modern
society.
Garland, David. 2002. The culture of control: Crime and social
order in contemporary society. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
A
theoretically sophisticated analysis of the contemporary state of incarceration
in Western society, especially the United States and the United Kingdom, with
special emphasis on cultural conditions of an increasingly punitive nature.
Garland, David. 2010. Peculiar institution: America’s death penalty
in an age of abolition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.
In
this important study, the central concern is with the reasons why the death
penalty persists in the United States when this form of punishment has
generally disappeared across the nations of the world.
Manza, Jeff, and Christopher Uggen. 2006. Locked out: Felon
disenfranchisement and American democracy. Studies in Crime and Public
Policy. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
A
sophisticated empirical analysis of the conditions and impact of
disenfranchisement laws for convicts in the context of American culture and
politics.
Ross, Edward A. 1926. Social control: A survey of the foundations
of order. Citizen’s Library of Economics, Politics, and Sociology. New
York: Macmillan.
A
classical study on the theoretical and social significance of social control
institutions and mechanisms. Originally published in 1901.
Sutton, John R. 2013. The transformation of prison regimes in late
capitalist societies. American Journal of Sociology 119:715–746.
Focused
on the globalization of punishment, this study shows that incarceration rates
increased mainly among countries with unregulated labor markets, decentralized
polities, and weak labor unions, but that important institutional differences
also continue to exist.
