How Does Law Matter?
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The question of how law matters has long been fundamental to the law and society field. Social science scholarship has repeatedly demonstrated that law matters less, or differently, than those who study only legal doctrine would have us believe. Yet research in this field depends on a belief in the relevance of law, no matter how often gaps are identified.The essays in this collection show how law is relevant in both an "instrumental" and a "constitutive" sense, as a tool to accomplish particular purposes and as an important force in shaping the everyday worlds in which we live. Essays examine these issues by focusing on legal consciousness, the body, discrimination, and colonialism as well as on more traditional legal concerns such as juries and criminal justice.
Studying How Law Matters: An Introduction1How Law Matters in Disputing and Dispute Processing (Or, the Contingency of Legal Matter in Informal Dispute Processes)15The Legal Response to Discrimination: Does Law Matter?45How Does Law Matter for Social Movements?76How Does Law Matter in the Constitution of Legal Consciousness?109Body Images: How Does the Body Matter in the Legal Imagination?145Law, Social Contract Theory, and the Construction of Colonial Hierarchies162The Jury: How Does Law Matter?191A Resource Theory of the Criminal Law: Exploring When It Matters227Notes on Contributors248Index249
