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Law, Social Movement and Social Change (LAW-RT-SOCMOV-25)

LAW-RT-SOCMOV-25

Purpose

 

Description

Overview
This interdisciplinary seminar is designed for doctoral researchers and advanced graduate students interested in the intersection of law, social movements, and political transformation. It interrogates a central tension in socio-legal studies: to what extent is law a tool for emancipation—or a mechanism of constraint—in collective struggles for justice?
Drawing on social movement theory, socio-legal scholarship, and critical jurisprudence, the course explores how movements engage with the law both strategically and symbolically. Participants will examine how social movements form, sustain momentum, and reshape political possibility through legal frames, institutional advocacy, and resource mobilisation. Courts and legal institutions will be analysed through the lens of key frameworks including legal consciousness, legal opportunity structures, and support structures for legal reform.
In addition to conceptual engagement, participants will explore diverse case studies. Throughout, the course encourages critical reflection on the role of law in shaping political imagination and defining the boundaries of reform.

Learning objectives 

• Analyse major theoretical frameworks explaining the relationship between law and social movements (e.g., legal consciousness, framing theory, opportunity structures).
• Evaluate the role of courts and legal actors in facilitating or constraining social change.
• Compare the strategic and symbolic dimensions of legal mobilisation across different types of movements.
• Critically reflect on the promises and limits of legal reform as a means of achieving justice.
• Engage with interdisciplinary scholarship and articulate original, research-driven insights in both discussion and written work.
• Synthesise complex theoretical debates on law and mobilisation into clear arguments relevant to their own research projects.

Teaching and learning method

• Seminar-style discussion grounded in pre-assigned readings
• Critical debates on the strategic use of law by social movements
• Collaborative group work analysing selected case studies
• Weekly reflection questions to guide in-depth engagement with the material
• Two guest speaker interventions from scholars or practitioners in the field (online/offline)

Course reading list: https://readinglist.eui.eu/leganto/public/39EUI_INST/lists/2943874590008406?auth=SAML&idpCode=SAML_LEGANTO

First, Second & Third Term: registration from 22 to 26 September 2025

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