This course is the first in a series to be offered on leading, contemporary legal and social theorists as well as key issues in legal and social theory. In virtue of the abiding importance of Habermas' work in philosophy and social theory in general, and law in particular, and the fact that he is currently at the centre of many of the most significant debates in these domains, it seems that a knowledge of his ideas is important to anyone who wants to be au fait with the most advanced contemporary theoretical work on law. This course can be done as an introduction to doing LAWS4336 (Habermas 2) or simply on its own. It will an involve a general and wide-ranging introduction to Habermas' main ideas as set out in his Theory of Communicative Action. It will explore some of Habermas' main concepts such as: communicative action and communicative rationality; strategic action and strategic rationality; system and lifeworld; the colonization of the lifeworld; and juridification. It will also begin to draw out his many comments on law in this book, and seek to work these into a general theory of law for contemporary society. Particular focus will be given to seeing exactly where Habermas' ideas are situated in relation to other legal and social theorists, past and present. Habermas' work naturally invites such comparisons by virtue of the way he builds up his own ideas by critically and creatively appropriating the central insights of others. On a general note, students should not think that this course is for experts in legal and social theory. The level of expertise demanded is that of the interested novice or relative novice who wants exposure to one of the leading and most broadbased present-day legal and social theory.