This course examines three of the most important and diverse research programs in contemporary legal and social theory; hermeneutic, discourse theory and theories of post-communist transformations. Hermeneutics, stemming from the work of HG Gadamer, systematically explores the conditions for understanding and interpreting the meaning of human creations; from the general level of cultures as a whole through to particular aspects of culture such as literary and legal texts. Discourse theory, centring on the recent writings of J Habermas, investigates the social, political and legal preconditions necessary to sustain the plurality, diversity and functional integrity of contemporary advanced - capitalist societies. Trans-formation theory analyses the particular issues that currently confront societies that want to construct legal - democratic institutions and cultures out of the remnants of formerly communist systems of government. All three approaches reflect the highly interdisciplinary character of contemporary legal theory; synthesising aspects from literary theory, analytical and continental philosophy of language and communication as well as social and political theory. By examining these three different but often overlapping theoretical currents students will be encouraged to engage in in depth investigations into modes of thinking that are at the forefront of contemporary debates concerning the place and character of law in modern/postmodern societies.