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Law, Science and Development (LAWS90179)

Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5Not available in 2024

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Overview

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To say that a State or region is ‘under-developed’ is simultaneously to claim to know something about it and to imply something about how to respond. Development is both an object of science and of law. This subject invites students to think about the mutually constitutive relations between these three terms. It asks: how do lawmakers know things about the developing world? And, what role does science play in governing it?

The subject pays particular attention to how these questions play out in periods of‘crisis: during disasters like the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami or the earthquake that rocked Haiti in 2010; and, more generally, with respect to climate change.

Methodologically, students will learn to unpack the science/law-policy distinction using Critical Legal Studies, Science and Technology Studies, and related methodologies.

Principal topics will include:

  • Indicators and Algorithms of Development OR Metrics and Symptoms of (Under)development
  • Disaster and Development
  • Climate and the State

Intended learning outcomes

A student who has successfully completed this subject will: 



  • be able to recognize and critically unpack the complex challenges involved in regulating economic, social and environmental development within Australia and on a global scale;
  • have learned to ground and frame abstract problems (e.g. ‘climate change’) by situating them in specific (institutional, scholarly, and governmental) controversies, policies, and practices; 
  • be prepared to analyse and employ legal and scientific tools and concepts that are currently used to create and rationally administer problems such as underdevelopment and ecological degradation; 
  • have the capacity to view historical, cultural, legal, and scientific trends as continuous and mutually reinforcing, and be able to unpack complex analyses and synthesize new prescriptions; and  
  • be prepared to confidently undertake writing and presentation assignments and demonstrate their ability to systematically organize legal and non-legal research into coherent narratives and arguments.

Last updated: 30 January 2024