Description
Book SynopsisLaura Nader, an instrumental figure in the development of the field of legal anthropology, investigates an issue of vital importance for our time: the role of the law in the struggle for social and economic justice. In this book she gives an overview of the history of legal anthropology and at the same time urges anthropologists, lawyers, and activists to recognize the centrality of law in social change. Nader traces the evolution of the plaintiff's role in the United States in the second half of the twentieth century and passionately argues that the atrophy of the plaintiff's power during this period represents a profound challenge to justice and democracy. Taking into account the vast changes wrought in both anthropology and the law by globalization, Nader speaks to the increasing dominance of large business corporations and the prominence of neoliberal ideology and practice today. In her discussion of these trends, she considers the rise of the alternative dispute resolution movemen
Trade Review"Nader's conversational commentary illuminates the current central policy debates over tort reform, class action remedies, the World Trade Organization, criminal prosecution of corporate crime, and Alternative Dispute Resolution, which substantially affect U.S. and international legal systems." - Robert C. Fellmeth, Director, Center for Public Interest Law, University of San Diego"
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1. Evolving an Ethnography of Law: A Personal Document 2. Lawyers and Anthropologists 3. Hegemonic Processes in Law: Colonial to Contemporary 4. The Plaintiff: A User Theory Epilogue Bibliography Index
