The laws and legal systems governing our lives today have deep historical roots. As early as the third millennium BC, people in Mesopotamia were compiling laws and employing various legal mechanisms. Surviving legal manuals and other sources tell us how the ancient Egyptians regulated sales, loans, donations, marriage and divorce, inheritances and leases.
And it was in Roman times that the foundations were laid for the so-called civilian tradition, which still reverberates in the private law of continental Europe, South America and parts of the Far East (Japan, China). On this course, leading experts on ancient law guide you through the theoretical and historical aspects of these systems and their unique characteristics, focusing on such themes as contracts, delict, property and family law.
We begin with general presentations of the different systems, before moving on to the study and analysis of exemplary texts (in English translation) in a workshop setting. By the end of the course you will have gained a sense of legal life in the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Rome and Byzantium.
Students and professinals in the field of Humanities, Social Sciences, Law and History. Applicants from other fields are welcome as well; no previous knowledge or specific disciplinary association is required. Our courses are multi-disciplinary and therefore are open to students and professionals with a wide variety of backgrounds.
•Have developed a basic sense of the cultural and historical roots of present-day legal reality in Europe and other parts of the world.
•Be familiar with the main features of several different legal systems in the ancient world and their cultural background.
•Be familiar with cross-cultural research.
•Understand the basics of interdisciplinary methodology and thought, in this case combining history and law.
•Be familiar with the notion of history, its importance and its relevance to our lives in the present.