Law, Culture, and Ritual

Oscar G Chase

ISBN 10: 0814716792 / ISBN 13: 9780814716793

Published by New York University Press, US, 2007

About this Item

Disputing systems are products of the societies in which they operate-they originate and mutate in response to disputes that are particular to specific social, cultural, and political contexts. Disputing procedures, therefore, are an important medium through which fundamental beliefs, values, and symbols of culture are communicated, preserved, and sometimes altered. In Law, Culture, and Ritual, Oscar G. Chase uses interdisciplinary scholarship to examine the cultural contexts of legal institutions, and presents several case studies to demonstrate that the processes used for resolving disputes have a cultural origin and impact. Ranging from the dispute resolution practices of the Azande, a technologically simple, small-scale African society, to the rise of discretionary authority in civil litigation in America, Chase challenges the claims of some scholars that official dispute systems are more reflective of the interests and preferences of elite professionals than of the cultures in which they are embedded.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780814716793

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Law, Culture, and Ritual
• Publisher: New York University Press, US
• Publication Date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0814716792
• ISBN 13: 9780814716793
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 295 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Disputing systems are products of the societies in which they operate—they originate and mutate in response to disputes that are particular to specific social, cultural, and political contexts. Disputing procedures, therefore, are an important medium through which fundamental beliefs, values, and symbols of culture are communicated, preserved, and sometimes altered. In Law, Culture, and Ritual, Oscar G. Chase uses interdisciplinary scholarship to examine the cultural contexts of legal institutions, and presents several case studies to demonstrate that the processes used for resolving disputes have a cultural origin and impact.
Ranging from the dispute resolution practices of the Azande, a technologically simple, small-scale African society, to the rise of discretionary authority in civil litigation in America, Chase challenges the claims of some scholars that official dispute systems are more reflective of the interests and preferences of elite professionals than of the cultures in which they are embedded.

About the Author

Oscar G. Chase is Russell D. Niles Professor of Law at New York University School of Law and is co-director of The Institute of Judicial Administration.