Law and Society

Steven E. Barkan is professor of sociology at the University of Maine, where he has taught since 1979. His teaching and research interests include criminology, sociology of law, and social movements. He is the 2008-2009 president of the Society for the Study of Social Problems and had previously served as a member of the SSSP Board of Directors, as chair of its Law and Society Division and Editorial and Publications Committee, and as an advisory editor of its journal,Social Problems. He has served on the student paper award committees of the Crime, Law, and Deviance and Sociology of Law sections of the American Sociological Association. Professor Barkan has written many journal articles dealing with topics such as racial prejudice and death penalty attitudes, views on police brutality, political trials, and feminist activism. These articles have appeared in the American Sociological Review, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Journal of Crime and Justice, Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Justice Quarterly, Social Forces, Social Problems, Sociological Forum, Sociological Inquiry, and other journals. For Prentice Hall, he is the author of Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 4/e and of Law and Society: An Introduction (both coming out in early 2008). Professor Barkan welcomes comments from students and faculty about these books. They may email him at barkan@maine.edu or send regular mail to:  Department of Sociology, 5728 Fernald Hall, University of Maine, Orono, Maine 04469—5728.

IN THIS SECTION:

1.) BRIEF

2.) COMPREHENSIVE

 

 

BRIEF TABLE OF CONTENTS:


 



Chapter 1: The Social Nature and Significance of Law

Chapter 2: Understanding Law and Society

Chapter 3: Families and Types of Law

Chapter 4: Law and Dispute Processing

Chapter 5: Law and Social Control Chapter 6: Law and Social Change

Chapter 7: Law and Inequality Chapter 8: The Legal Profession

Chapter 9: Courts and Juries


 


 

COMPREHENSIVE TABLE OF CONTENTS:

*Each chapter ends with Summary and Key Terms 

 



Chapter 1: The Social Nature and Significance of Law

    The Significance of Law for Society and for Ourselves

    The Study of Law and Society

    Law and Justice

    The Plan of the Book

 

Chapter 2: Understanding Law and Society

    What is Law?

    Explanations of Law

 

Chapter 3:  Families and Types of Law

    Families of Law

    Types of Law in the United States

    Special Topics

 

Chapter 4:  Law and Dispute Processing

    The Disputing Process

    Explaining Dispute Processing Decisions

    Dispute Processing in the United States

 

Chapter 5:  Law and Social Control

     Law, Deterrence, and Incapacitation

    Special Topics in Law and Social Control

    Law, Morality, and Consensual Crime

 

Chapter 6:  Law and Social Change

    The Impact of Social Change on Law: Law as Dependent Variable

    The Impact of Law on Social Change: Law as Independent Variable

    Law and Social Movements

 

Chapter 7: Law and Inequality

    Law and Inequality in the American Past

    Race and Ethnicity

    Contemporary Evidence

    Race and Ethnicity

 

Chapter 8: The Legal Profession

    Images and Perceptions of Lawyers

    History of the Legal Profession

    The U.S. Legal Profession Today

    Law School and Legal Education

 

Chapter 9:  Courts and Juries

    Criminal Courts in the United States

    The Jury in Democratic Society