Convenor name: Prof Martin Lau
Convenor email: ml1@soas.ac.uk
Office room: S330
Office hours: Thursday 11:00 to 13:00 (teaching weeks)
Module dates: Semester 2
Intended learning outcomes:
| 1 | Have acquired a sound knowledge of South Asian legal systems and an advanced understanding of their origins, functions, and impact |
| 2 | Be able to apply critical and social theories to the analysis of South Asian laws, with particular focus on the role of South Asian laws as means of achieving social change and social justice |
| 3 | Be able to illustrate the contextual nature of South Asian laws and to select appropriate theoretical bases for examining the nexus between law and culture, identity, religion, economy, and politics |
| 4 | Be able carry out interdisciplinary analysis of South Asian legal issues with an appropriate awareness of the purposes and limits of such a methodological approach |
| 5 | Have developed critical skills in dealing with cases, statutes, primary and secondary sources, and solving the specific problems presented by such materials in South Asian contexts |
| 6 | Be able to carry out advanced independent research in the field of South Asian laws, aimed at explaining change and dynamics, making inferences about cause and effect through systematic comparison of cases and analysis of data |
Assessment 1: Name: Poster (800 words max)
Assessment 1: Weighting: 30%
Assessment 1: Due date: Week 10
Assessment 1: Format: Poster (800 words max)
Assessment 2: Name: Essay (4000 words)
Assessment 2: Weighting: 70%
Assessment 2: Due date: Assessment Week 2
Assessment 2: Format: 4000-word research essay
Page type: Module
Study year: 2025/26
Librarian name: Naomi Hart
Librarian email: nh64@soas.ac.uk
Page template: 2025/26 On campus
