The Common Place of Law
Stories from Everyday Life
University of Chicago Press, 1998
Cloth: 978-0-226-22742-9 | Paper: 978-0-226-22744-3 | Electronic: 978-0-226-21270-8
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226212708.001.0001
Cloth: 978-0-226-22742-9 | Paper: 978-0-226-22744-3 | Electronic: 978-0-226-21270-8
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226212708.001.0001
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ABOUT THIS BOOKTABLE OF CONTENTS
ABOUT THIS BOOK
Why do some people not hesitate to call the police to quiet a barking dog in the middle of the night, while others accept the pain and losses associated with defective products, unsuccesful surgery, and discrimination? Patricia Ewick and Susan Silbey collected accounts of the law from more than four hundred people of diverse backgrounds in order to explore the different ways that people use and experience it. Their fascinating and original study identifies three common narratives of law that are captured in the stories people tell.
One narrative is based on an idea of the law as magisterial and remote. Another views the law as a game with rules that can be manipulated to one's advantage. A third narrative describes the law as an arbitrary power that is actively resisted. Drawing on these extensive case studies, Ewick and Silbey present individual experiences interwoven with an analysis that charts a coherent and compelling theory of legality. A groundbreaking study of law and narrative, The Common Place of Law depicts the institution as it is lived: strange and familiar, imperfect and ordinary, and at the center of daily life.
One narrative is based on an idea of the law as magisterial and remote. Another views the law as a game with rules that can be manipulated to one's advantage. A third narrative describes the law as an arbitrary power that is actively resisted. Drawing on these extensive case studies, Ewick and Silbey present individual experiences interwoven with an analysis that charts a coherent and compelling theory of legality. A groundbreaking study of law and narrative, The Common Place of Law depicts the institution as it is lived: strange and familiar, imperfect and ordinary, and at the center of daily life.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface
Part One: Introduction
One: Millie Simpson
Two: The Common Place of Law
Three: The Social Construction of Legality
Part Two: Stories of Legal Consciousness: Constructing Legality
Rita Michaels
Dwayne Franklin
Standing before the Law
Charles Reed
Nikos Stavros
Playing with the Law
Bess Sherman
Jamie Leeson
Up against the Law
Part Three: Conclusions
Seven: Mystery and Resolution: Reconciling the Irreconcilable
Eight: Consciousness and Contradiction
Appendix A: Research Strategies and Methods
Appendix B: Who's Who in the Text
Notes
References
Index