Competencies and objectives

 

Course context for academic year 2026-27

The subject "Sociology of Law" has the fundamental purpose of offering students a critical understanding of law as a social phenomenon. From a sociological perspective, it encourages reflection on its role in organizing collective life, its legitimacy, its relationship with power structures, and its impact on processes of social change. What is the purpose of law? Who does it truly benefit?

Far from conceiving of law as a closed, neutral, or unquestionable system, this subject invites students to question many of the ideas assumed in the social imagination: the objectivity of those who apply the rules, the supposed clarity of the laws, or the idea that the rules apply equally to everyone. These conceptions, inherited from 19th-century legal perspectives, are insufficient for understanding the complexity of contemporary societies.

Throughout the course, students will become familiar with classic and contemporary theoretical approaches that have addressed the relationship between law and society. They will explore case studies and empirical research that reveal how law operates in practice, how it transforms with social changes, and how it can both reproduce inequalities and create spaces for questioning them.

Ultimately, the course aims to develop an analytical, reflective, and independent attitude in students, enabling them to formulate their own judgments about the multiple ways in which law interacts with social life, and about its potential as a tool for understanding, organizing, or transforming the world we live in.

 

 

Learning outcomes / Course competencies (verified by ANECA in official undergraduate and Master’s degrees) for academic year 2026-27

General Competences (CG)

  • CG.1 : Capacity to find, analyse and synthesise information.
  • CG.2 : Capacity for teamwork: collaborating with others and contributing towards a common project.
  • CG.3 : Capacity for self-learning and adapting to new situations.
  • CG.4 : Capacity to take decisions, putting one's knowledge into practice and handling technical instruments.
  • CG.5 : Capacity for criticism and self criticism.

 

General Competences acquired at University of Alicante (CGUA)

  • CGUA.2 : Ability to use information and communications technologies in one's professional life.
  • CGUA.3 : Capacity for oral and written communication.

 

Specific Competences (CE)

  • CE1 : Be able to describe fundamental concepts in the fields of psychology, sociology, law and natural sciences that are needed to provide a global analysis of criminal phenomena and deviation.
  • CE10 : Be able to explain and summarise empirical information and results of research into crime, victimisation and response to crime and deviation, and evaluate the methodology used (identify which methodology is the most appropriate, its ethical principles, results, etc.).
  • CE2 : Be able to describe the fundamental theoretical approaches to criminal acts, victimisation and responses to crime and deviation.
  • CE3 : Be able to extract and synthesise information from different sources, including: handling information and communication technologies, designing and applying appropriate research strategies for compiling data using quantitative and qualitative methods, and being able to apply basic statistical techniques to questions related to crime and victimisation when necessary.
  • CE5 : Be able to provide an analytical explanation of diversity and social inequality, as well as its consequences relating to criminal acts, victimisation and responses to crime and deviation.
  • CE8 : Be able to argue and describe different points of view and debate them in a logical and coherent manner and present conclusions in an appropriate academic format when dealing with questions of criminal policy, victimisation, criminalisation and responses to crime and deviation as well as on the perception and interpretation of the same by the communications media, public opinion and official reports.

 

 

 

Learning outcomes (Training objectives)

No data

 

 

Specific objectives stated by the academic staff for academic year 2026-27

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

• Distinguish, based on classical authors, the different theoretical approaches within the Sociology of Law
• Understand Law as a social fact
• Identify social processes involved in the formation of Law and in the application of legal norms
• Recognize Law as a body of knowledge that self-regulates through its interaction with society
• Analyze the influence of social factors in the production of contemporary Law
• Take a critical stance regarding the conflicts of interest that affect legal systems
• Explore the impact of specific elements (such as digital technologies or globalization) on the configuration of new legal spaces and forms of social regulation
• Understand how Law can contribute both to the reproduction and the transformation of social inequalities
• Critically analyze legal discourses through intersectional approaches (gender, class, ethnicity, etc.)
• Reflect on new forms of justice (restorative, digital, community-based) and their relevance in contemporary contexts

COMPETENCIES TO BE DEVELOPED

• Organize, search for, verify, investigate, systematize, identify and isolate variables when analyzing the social reality of Law
• Develop skills in written, oral or multimedia presentation of academic work
• Foster the habit of reading texts or consulting multimedia materials on sociological approaches to Law
• Participate actively in teamwork and group cooperation
• Develop an analytical attitude towards the social influences that shape legal systems
• Acquire the ability to critically interpret emerging legal phenomena in digital, transnational or intercultural contexts
• Apply sociological concepts of Law to real and current cases, with an ethical and socially engaged perspective
• Use digital tools for research and for presenting results in the socio-legal field
• Develop a critical perspective on the role of Law in sustainability, human rights and the challenges of the 21st century

 

 

General

Code: 18511
Lecturer responsible:
Llorca Asensi, Elena
Credits ECTS: 6,00
Theoretical credits: 1,80
Practical credits: 0,60
Distance-base hours: 3,60

Departments involved

  • Dept: Sociology I
    Area: Sociology
    Theoretical credits: 1,8
    Practical credits: 0,6
    This Dept. is responsible for the course.
    This Dept. is responsible for the final mark record.

Study programmes where this course is taught