What is law, and how do we write its history? Drawing on case studies from a broad range of periods and places, this course will explore how law is made, interpreted, enforced, experienced, and resisted. It will also explore how historians use both legal and non-legal sources to study the ways in which law and society have shaped each other. This course forms part of the "Doing History" series: rigorous undergraduate colloquia that introduce the practice of history within a particular field or thematic area.
5 units · Letter (ABCD/NP)
What is law, and how do we write its history? Drawing on case studies from a broad range of periods and places, this course will explore how law is made, interpreted, enforced, experienced, and resisted. It will also explore how historians use both legal and non-legal sources to study the ways in which law and society have shaped each other. This course forms part of the "Doing History" series: rigorous undergraduate colloquia that introduce the practice of history within a particular field or thematic area.
Offered in Winter 2026 at Stanford University.