Velbrück Soziologische Theorien des Rechts

Although research in the sociology of law today is characterized in many ways by interdisciplinary relationships and cooperation with law and the various social sciences, humanities, and cultural studies, sociology remains the discipline's central theoretical frame of reference. This book explores sociological theories of law by introducing key texts and discussing them in context. The book is divided into three parts, following the main phases in the development of sociological theories of law, and presents contributions on early sociological theories of law, as well as on the development of sociological theories of law. It brings together articles on early sociologies of law (such as Durkheim, Ehrlich, Weber, or Geiger), on legal sociological theory formation in the differentiation phase of legal sociology (including Popitz, Luhmann, Habermas, Foucault, or Bourdieu), and, last but not least, on more recent perspectives (for example, McKinnon, Crenshaw, Ewick and Silbey, or Latour). In addition to the life and academic work of the authors, the discussions of the key texts also deal with the respective social and theoretical contexts in which they were written, as well as the content of the key texts and their reception history and impact. The book is aimed at researchers in the sociology of law and general sociology, as well as an audience interested in the sociology of law from the pluralistic field of legal research and practice. It can provide orientation for interested students as well as for those familiar with (legal) sociology. By presenting sociological conceptualizations of the law in the context of their social and academic influences and path dependencies in an accessible way, it aims to strengthen decidedly theoretical discussions of the law as a social phenomenon.