Legal Studies 397LE - ST-Law and Economic Crises

Newspapers, media-outlets, and online platforms inform us, almost every day, of the declaration of a state of emergency, the imposition of exceptional measures or the activation of the martial law to deal with economic, social, environmental and political crises, or to tackle scenarios of political violence. In short, the normalization of this dispositive in contemporary democracies has produced a broad understanding of what it is and how it is implemented. However, this course would argue that the paradigm of the state of exception remains underdeveloped. The purpose of this course is to introduce the students to the debates on law, exceptionality and economic crises, both in the US and in the international context. Therefore, the course will be looking at: the foundational debates on the concept of the state of exception, law and sovereignty; critiques of the work of Giorgio Agamben; approaches to the living experiences of those whom suffer the state of exception and economic crises; and, the uses of the state of exception as technic of economic crises managements.

Open to Senior and Junior Legal Studies majors only. Pre Req: LEGAL 250