People and Place

People and Place presents a path-breaking collection of essays demonstrating the fascinating ways in which personalities interact with physical locale in shaping the law. Examining law through the framework of history, this anthology presents a mixture of innovative articles produced by established scholars as well as representatives of the next generation.

The collection represents a rich array of interdisciplinary expertise, with authors who are law professors, historians, sociologists and criminologists. Their essays include studies into the lives of judges and lawyers, rape victims, prostitutes, religious sect leaders, and common criminals. The geographic scope touches Canada, the United States and Australia. The essays explore how one individual, or small self-identified groups, were able to make a difference in how law was understood, applied, and interpreted. They also probe the degree to which locale and location influenced legal culture history.

The essays offer snapshots of human history, capturing the centrality of law as individuals located themselves in relation to others and to the places and times in which they lived. Accessible to academics, students, and general readers interested in the formation of law within a social context, this collection offers a compelling perspective of this subtle relationship. The close examination of people and place will allow readers to unpack law’s various meanings across communities and time, and to move closer to a more profound awareness of the complexity of human society.